The Coleville Horror
by Rose Madder
Summary: An old relative of Piper and Phoebe dies, leaving them a house. One where a portal has been opened recently. Beyond this portal, someone's been waiting for a long time to get their freedom back... and also to get revenge. Sequel to Fruit of My Womb. COMPL
1. Heirs

Note #1: Believe it or not, there's actually a small city named Coleville in California.

Note #2: This story is part of a series, and will be better understood by those who've read the previous installments. The sequence of the stories is: (1) Redemption; (2) The Demon's Advocate; (3) So Mote It Be; (4) Fruit of My Womb; (5) The Coleville Horror. For those who haven't read the previous stories, here's the scenery: the Source is gone, Cole and Phoebe have left the Underworld for good, and their son is a one year old human baby. Piper is seven months pregnant, but it's Leo who's having all the side effects, like morning sickness, cravings and mood swings. For more details, read the previous stories.

Note #3: Be patient and read it until the end, and I promise you'll finally know the reason why the Elders are so interested on Cole.

Note #4: The seed of this story was planted in my mind more than a year ago by Mary Hines, author of some of the best Charmed fictions I've ever read and thanks to whom I started to write fan fiction, too. This seed finally sprouted thanks to a story written by a fellow fan fiction writer, whose name I won't tell until last chapter because I could be giving away the story. But I just couldn't post this story without a thank you note to both of them.

Credits: This is getting boring. I guess I should prepare a standard disclaimer and stick to it. So, here it goes: I don't own any of the Charmed characters, I never meant to infringe anyone's copyrights, so please take this story for what it is -- fun -- and don't bother to suit me.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Thank you so much, counselor. I don't know what I'd have done if it wasn't for you."

Cole smiled at the beautiful brunette sitting before him in the solarium and said:

"You're very welcome, Amber. But from now on, please don't sign anything before you read it carefully, okay? Next time it may not be so easy to release you from a contract."

"I know..." -- she sighed and pulled her lower lip between her teeth -- "But they're so hard to understand, with all those tiny teeny letters!..."

"Well, I'm afraid that's exactly the idea," said Cole, chuckling slightly. "But at least bring any legal documents for me to read before you sign them, okay?"

"That's very kind of you, counselor..." said Amber, smiling.

"That's an ounce of prevention, Amber," said Cole, smirking. "It's much less trouble than the pound of cure I'd have to provide later."

Amber giggled, then she leaned forward and said, in a more serious manner:

"Now, how much do I own you?"

"Nothing," said Cole, waving his head. "I know that this trial has drained most of your savings. This one is on the house."

"Oh, but I must pay you!" protested Amber.

"I'm serious, Amber," said Cole. "I won't accept money from you."

"Well, my cousin Emerald told me that she couldn't afford paying you in cash, either, and you accepted what she had to offer."

As Cole said nothing, Amber insisted:

"Come on, there must be something I can do for you!"

"Oh well, if you insist..." said Cole, giving in. He turned towards the door and called out loud: "Piper! What are we short of?"

After a quick survey in the supplies' cabinet, Piper yelled from the kitchen:

"Celandine, spurge nettle... and we're on the edge of running out of calla pollen."

As Cole turned back to Amber with an inquisitive look, she asked:

"Would ten pounds of calla pollen do it?"

"For the next three generations of Halliwells, I think it would," Cole said, smiling.

"Then calla pollen it is!" she said, smiling brightly and clapping her hands in childlike joy. "I'll have my brother bring it to you first thing tomorrow morning. Now," she added, standing up and spreading a pair of beautiful iridescent wings, "I shall not take any more of your time. Again, thank you, counselor. And give my regards to that lovely wife of yours."

"I will," said Cole, standing up, too, and Amber flapped her wings fast, becoming more and more translucent and turning into a small twinkling light that flew out the window and quickly disappeared towards the sky.

"Another happy customer?"

Cole turned around to see Piper standing at the doorway, smiling.

"You know," he said, with an amused smile, "when I took Sarsour's case I never thought I'd become the attorney for nine out of ten magical creatures."

"Yes, you've become rather popular."

"I just wish some of my customers could pay me with the good old money," Cole said, putting his hands in his pockets with a sigh.

"Well, I don't," said Piper. "Thanks to you, we have saved a lot of money in magical supplies during these last five months."

"Yeah," he said, without much enthusiasm.

"What?" Piper said, frowning slightly. "Are you and Phoebe short of money?"

"No," he asked, too quickly.

"Cole..." she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"No, Piper, we don't need money," he insisted, but she cocked her head aside and squinted her eyes, still unconvinced.

Just then, they heard Ben calling through the baby monitor:

"Dada!"

"Ben is up," Cole said, promptly walking past Piper and heading towards the stairs.

Piper followed him, not intending to drop the subject just yet. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes as she followed Cole upstairs: men could be so silly when it came to money! Every time she and Leo went out, she had to give him the money before they left the house, so that he wouldn't feel embarrassed when she paid the bill. And she knew Phoebe did the same with Cole, especially when they double dated with Paige and her boyfriend.

"Cole, if there's something you need..."

"There's nothing we need," he said, without looking back. After some hesitation, though, he added: "There's something I **_want_**, but it'd require more money than you could lend us, and even if it didn't, we could never afford to pay you back, so never mind."

"Okay," she said, catching up with him on the second floor, "but can't you at least tell me what it is that you'd like to buy? Just out of curiosity?"

"You know," he said, stopping by his bedroom's door and spinning around to face her, "sometimes you can be such a..."

"Such a what?" she said, a little taken aback.

"Such a Halliwell," he said, smiling.

Piper smiled back at him, but her smile faltered ever so slightly when Cole added, with an amused smile:

"I'll bet Leo has a hard time keeping from you things the Elders tell him."

Piper felt a pang of guilt as she thought of the things Leo had been sharing with her during the past months, and that they were keeping from her sister and her brother in law. Cole didn't seem to notice her uneasiness, though, as he blurted:

"The house next door." Piper raised an inquisitive eyebrow and he proceeded: "I'd like to..."

"Dada, dada, dada!" Ben called from inside, as he decided that daddy needed some extra incentive.

"Right here, right here, right here!" Cole answered, laughing, as he entered the room, followed by Piper.

Ben was standing in his crib, with both hands leaning on the rail for support. As soon as he saw Cole, he started to jump up and down, excitedly.

"Wow! Did you get all this energy from just a nap?" Cole said, amused, as he scooped his son up and gave him a sound kiss. He turned back to Piper, smiling, but his smile vanished as it became clear that Ben needed to be changed.

"Hey!" he said, grimacing, "Hadn't we agreed that you'd only do **_this _**when mommy was around?"

He gave Piper a hopeful look, but she crossed her arms in front of her chest and said, giving him a mocking smile:

"In your dreams."

Cole let out a resigned sigh and went to the drawer where Phoebe kept the diapers. While he laid Ben on the double bed and prepared to bear his parental duty, Piper sat on the other edge of the bed and pursued:

"So, the house next door...?"

"Right," Cole said, grimacing as he unfastened the diaper tabs and faced its contents. "It seemed to be the perfect arrangement: close enough to be safe yet distant enough to be comfortable. Don't take me wrong," he quickly added, putting the soiled diaper aside and reaching out for the baby wipes, "but I'm afraid this house has reached its limit when it comes to overpopulation. It's not that I don't like being around you guys, but I'd also like to be able to get up late and still have some hot water left, and to have a bedroom apart from Ben's before he goes to college, and to be able to use the phone without having to get on the waiting list, and..."

"... and you're a married guy with a family, and you feel that you need some space," said Piper, finishing the thought for him.

Cole raised his eyes from the clean diaper he had just slid underneath Ben's bottom, looking with some surprise at her smiling face.

"Been there, done that," she said, shrugging.

"So," he said, cautiously, "you don't think I'm being rash? I mean, 'cause last time we..."

"Last time," Piper said, interrupting him, "you and Phoebe moved all the way across town, not next door. And let's not forget the _'Source of All Evil'_ factor."

Cole sighed in relief: he and Phoebe had agreed months ago to bring up the subject and see what the others thought, but between attacks from evil and the more prosaic demands of the real world, that talk always seemed to get postponed. The truth was, the fact that they both wanted it so badly didn't make the decision any easier. Quite the contrary, that was one of the most powerful appeals of evil: doing anything they felt like doing, caring for nothing but their own needs. That's why the approval of an impartial third party was so reassuring.

"We could tear out the wall between the two houses," he added, fastening the diaper tabs, "even build a covered passageway linking them. And..."

"Cole, I hate to be the one to rain on your parade," said Piper, holding up her hand, "but note that I've only said that I understand how you feel. As you've just mentioned, I can't afford lending you guys the money to actually buy the house."

"Right," said Cole, and his smiled faded into an embarrassed smirk. "The money. For a moment, I actually forgot about it."

"But, you know," said Piper, "even if we can't afford something as big as an entire house, we could consider something smaller and cheaper, like one or two extra rooms. I mean, not today, but maybe in a month or two, if things keep going well at P3... It's not as good as a new house, but, still..."

"That'd be really good," said Cole, smiling. He checked out the diaper tabs and threw the used baby wipes in a plastic bag, along with the dirty diaper.

As he scooped Ben up, intending to take him downstairs and to discard the bag and its undesirable content, they heard footsteps coming down the corridor and Paige appeared at the doorway.

"Hi!" she said, walking in.

"Hi!" said Ben, waving at her with great enthusiasm.

"Here's my boy!" she cooed, entering the room and taking the toddler from Cole's arms.

"Here," she said, handing an envelope to Cole, "this came for Phoebe. There's one for you, too, Piper. And one, uh, for Prue."

"That's odd," said Piper, receiving the two identical envelopes Paige handed her and reading the sender's address. "Smith and Cage, Attorneys at Law."

She started to open hers, then looked at Cole, who was fumbling with the one in his hand, obviously dying to see what was inside.

"Cole, won't you open Phoebe's? It's clearly not a personal letter, and the two of you are married."

"Yes, but..." -- Cole took one last look at the envelope and put it on the nightstand with a sigh -- "Nah, I guess I'll just wait for her to arrive from work."

"If you say so..." said Piper, shrugging. "Would you like to read mine? I'll probably end up asking your opinion, anyway," she said, handing him the envelope, which he promptly took.

Cole sat on the edge of the bed and started to read the letter, while Piper and Paige peered over his shoulders.

"Hum!" -- he quickly got to the core while the two girls struggled past the swamp of juridical terminology -- "So, tell me, how close are you guys to your great-aunt Helen?"

"Helen?" said Piper, intrigued. "We don't have a great-aunt Helen."

"Well, these guys seem to believe that you do. I mean, you did."

"Did?" said Piper, arching her eyebrows. "Is she dead?"

"Who's dead?"

Ben let out a happy squeal as he saw Phoebe standing at the doorway, and she promptly entered the room.

"Hey, sweetie!" she said. "Mommy is home! Did you miss me?"

"I know I did," said Cole, smiling as he pulled her to his lap and kissed her.

"Oh, please!" said Paige, rolling her eyes. "Get a room, you two!"

"Actually, we've already got one," said Cole, with a mocking smile, "but there's a family meeting taking place in it."

As if on key, Leo orbed in.

"Why is everyone here?" he asked, intrigued.

"Apparently," said Phoebe, "someone's dead. I mean, besides you."

"Their great-aunt Helen," said Paige.

"We don't have a great-aunt Helen," said Phoebe.

"Helen Louise Bennett," Cole read it out loud.

"From dad's side?" said Piper. "Maybe we should ask him."

"I think you should," said Cole, looking at the letter, "because she left you and Phoebe a property in..." -- he frowned and read it again -- "... **_Coleville_**? There's a city named Coleville?"

"Now, you're making that up!" said Paige, snapping the letter from his hand. "Dear Miss Halliwell, blah blah blah, passed away last month, blah blah blah, last will..." -- Cole put his finger right under the penultimate paragraph -- "Can you believe it? Coleville, County of Mono, California."

"That's it!" said Piper, standing up. "I'm gonna call dad."

"And I'm gonna get a map of California." said Paige, handing Ben over to Phoebe and leaving on Piper's heels.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A phone call and a search on the map later, they were all gathered in the living room.

"According to dad," Piper was saying, "Aunt Helen was his father's eldest sister. She was sort of, uh, eccentric: as far as he knew, she hadn't spoken to anyone in the family for the last twelve years or so. And she didn't leave anything to any of her male relatives: apparently she left her jewels to our cousin Claire... you remember Claire, right Phoebe? She sends us a Christmas card every year."

"Uh, blond hair, married a doctor, no kids, lives in Atlanta?" said Phoebe.

"Divorced the doctor, married an accountant, had twins, moved to LA. Gee, Phoebe, have you ever read any of those cards?"

"Not really," said Phoebe, giving her an apologizing smile, "you're the one who does all the public relations around here."

Piper rolled her eyes on her and proceeded:

"Anyway, the point is: she left us this house in Coleville and, since Prue is dead, I guess it means each of us own half of it. Right?" she said, looking at Cole.

"Sure," he said, "since she died after Prue."

"So," said Phoebe, "it leaves you and me. What are we gonna do about it?"

"Sell it, I guess," said Piper, shrugging. "I mean, I don't intend to move from San Francisco. Do you?"

"To Coleville?" said Phoebe, giggling. "I don't think so. No offense, baby," she added, smiling at Cole.

"None taken," he said, chuckling. "By the way, where is this Coleville City?"

"Close to the Nevada border," said Paige, who still had the map on her knees. "In fact, it can be barely called a city," she added with a sneer, "the last census showed a population of 1,370 people."

"Yeah, yeah..." said Cole, dismissing her with a wave of his hand, "show me a city named Paigeville and then we'll talk."

"Well, one of us should go there and see the place," Phoebe reasoned, turning to Piper again. "I mean, aren't you at least curious to know what we've inherited?"

"After talking to dad, I wouldn't expect much if I were you," said Piper. "But yes, I suppose one of us -- and honestly, I was expecting this one to be you -- should take a look at the place and talk to the lawyers, and see that it's sold."

"Why don't we all go?" said Paige, out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" said Piper, raising her eyebrows.

"Come on, that'd be fun! We could have a weekend out! It's not that far away: it seems like a six-hour journey. If we get up at seven, we can leave at eight, drive for, say, four hours, have lunch on the road, drive for a couple of more hours and get there by three, which would give you and Phoebe plenty of time to..."

"Hold on a second, miss road runner!" said Piper, raising her hands. "Let me tell you what would really happen: Leo and I would get up at seven, you would get up at seven thirty, and Mr. and Mrs. Turner here" -- she points at Cole and Phoebe -- "wouldn't leave their bedroom until eight thirty. Besides... oh God, don't give me that look!"

"We never do things together..." Paige said, with her best puppy dog eyes. "At least, not things that don't include killing and avoiding being killed."

"You know, maybe it'd be fun," said Phoebe, smiling, "even if we only got there at six p.m., what's the big deal? We could spend the night in the city -- they must have at least one decent hotel -- take a look at the house on Sunday morning, have lunch and then drive back home."

Piper didn't look very convinced, but she turned to Leo and asked:

"Honey, what do you think?"

"Well," he said, shrugging, "as long as you guys don't mind turning those six hours into eight, maybe nine. Since you entered the third trimester," he explained with some embarrassment, "it seems like I need to pee every twenty minutes or so."

He glanced at the amused smile Cole didn't even bother to hide and said, rolling his eyes:

"It's been more than six months now, and you still find it just as amusing as you did on the first day, don't you?"

"Technically," Cole said, grinning, "it's been only four months, since we only found out about your, uh, condition when Piper was almost three months pregnant. But yes, I still enjoy every minute of it, and how could I not, when there's always something new happening? The Braxton-what's-his-face episode, for example..."

"Cole Turner, will you stop? This is just mean!" said Phoebe, shoving his arm. Turning to Leo, who had turned pale, she added, reassuringly: "Those were **_not_** contractions: believe me, I should know, I had them for ten hours. Your imagination is playing tricks on you because you're nervous, and with no reason: you can't have contractions when you don't have an uterus."

"Well, during the last months I have been feeling a whole lot of things that, strictly speaking, I couldn't feel..." Leo said, grimacing, and Piper snugged him.

"Oh, honey..." she cooed.

"So," said Paige, "are we going to Coleville or not?"

"Well," said Phoebe, "if Piper and Leo are up to this... Baby?" she asked, turning to Cole.

"I don't mind," said Cole, smiling. "I have to admit that I'm curious about this city."

"Yay!" said Paige, smiling brightly. "Family trip!"

"Yay!" Ben echoed, clapping his hands and making the grown ups laugh.


	2. Boo!

"I'd never have imagined that Whitelighters could get car sick," said Paige, giving a very pale Leo a curious look.

"Honey, if you had told me that you got car sick I would have given you something for the nausea before we left the house," said Piper, as she parked her car in front of an old one-story house that clearly had seen better days.

It was past 5 p.m., but since the house was actually on the surroundings of Coleville and they had to drive past it to get to the city, everyone agreed to stop and take a first look at the place. Besides, both Leo and Ben needed a break, the Whitelighter because he had been as sick as possible for the last two hours, and the toddler because he was starting to get restless, despite of the best efforts of Cole and Phoebe to entertain him.

"I didn't know I got car sick, Piper," Leo said, while he unfastened the seat belt and opened the passenger side door. "I didn't get car sick when I was alive and, as a Whitelighter, I never traveled by car for obvious reasons. Now, if we had orbed, like I suggested..."

"... it wouldn't have been a family trip," Paige said decisively, getting out of the car.

Cole had just parked his own car next to Piper's, and he, Phoebe and Ben joined the others, looking at the house with doubtful expressions. The dirty yellow color of its walls was probably already hideous when the painting was fresh, something that obviously belonged to the distant past.

"So," said Paige, "do we get in or what?"

"Get in, I guess," said Piper, without much enthusiasm. Then, turning to Leo: "Come on, honey. You'll feel better once you've washed your face and had some fresh air."

She gave Cole a warning look that made a witty remark die on his lips, took Leo by his hand and walked towards the house with him, while the others followed. They had stopped in Sacramento to talk to the attorneys in charge of Helen Bennett's last will and get the key that Piper was now taking from her purse.

She unlocked the front door and opened it; then, as she and Leo entered the house, Piper stopped short and looked around, frowning slightly.

"Piper?" Paige said, stopping right behind them. "Anything wrong?"

"Uh, no. I guess," Piper said. "Just a chill."

"Well," Paige said, walking in, "in this family we take chills very seriously, because... wow!"

"What?" Cole said, grabbing Phoebe's arm and preventing her from following Paige.

"Did you feel... Honey, are you okay?" -- Piper forgot all about her chills when she noticed the look on Leo's face.

"Not really," he muttered. "Restroom."

Leo darted towards the first door he saw, which fortunately led to a restroom, reaching the toilet just in time to throw up lunch and -- he felt -- his soul. Piper followed him, while Paige stood by the door, uncertain.

"Wait here," Cole said to Phoebe.

He cautiously walked in, while she stood outside, with Ben in her arms. Not feeling anything different, Cole turned to Paige:

"Do you feel anything?"

"No," she said. "I had a chill when I entered the house, but..." -- she shrugged, not so sure -- "I don't know, I don't feel anything now. It could've been just a cold breeze..."

"Baby, it's starting to snow," said Phoebe, crossing the doorway. "I'll..."

She stopped short and grimaced, and Cole promptly reached out for her, pulling her towards him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes," she said, yet holding Ben a little tighter and leaning against her husband. "But I, too, felt... hum, something."

"Premonition?"

"No. Definitely not."

"I don't like this place," Cole said, frowning.

At this point, Piper and Leo came back from the restroom. He looked very pale and a little embarrassed.

"Sorry, guys. I'm afraid all the orbing thing spoiled me," he said, with a weak smile.

"Are you sure it was just car sickness?" Cole said, keeping his arm protectively around Phoebe. "Because it seems that everyone felt something while entering the house."

"I don't know," Leo said, uncertain. "I feel better now. Not great, but better. And I was sick long before we arrived here. How about you?" -- he looked inquisitively at the girls.

"I'm okay," said Paige.

"Me too," said Phoebe.

"I'm not sure I actually felt something," said Piper.

"Besides," Phoebe said, turning to Cole, "you didn't feel anything, did you?"

"No," Cole admitted, unwillingly. "Still, can you just look at whatever it is that you want to look so that we can leave?"

"Sure," said Phoebe.

"Can you believe all those ceramic figures?" Piper said, looking around. "She must have been really fond of pottery."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

"Can you believe this?"

"I know! Three witches... and a Whitelighter to boot! Someone down there must really love us!"

"Do you think there's enough magic for both of us?"

"Absolutely! Once the portal is fully opened, we'll be back in business, my friend!"

"But..."

"What?"

"Whitelighters... they're like, pure magic, aren't they?"

"Yeah. So?..."

"Once we've taken all of it, don't you think he'll die?"

"Yeah. So?..."

"You're evil."

"Yeah. So?..."

(chuckles)

(laughs)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So, everything inside the house belongs to us, too?" Phoebe said, casting a curious look around.

"Yes," Piper said. "Why? See anything you'd like to keep?"

"Not really. But it won't hurt to take a look around."

"Hey, there's a piano here," said Paige, opening one of the doors.

"Wow! Look at the size of this kitchen!" Piper said, opening another one, opposite to the corridor through which Paige had gone. "Now, that's something I'd like to take with me to San Francisco."

She looked at Leo, who had followed her to the kitchen, and asked, frowning:

"Honey, are you sure you're feeling better?"

"Yes," he said, carefully sitting by the kitchen table, "I just don't feel like walking around, do you mind if I just wait for you here?"

"Of course not," she said, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "We won't take long."

"Take your time," he said. "Right now, the idea of getting into the car again is anything but appealing."

Piper touched her husband's face affectionately and said:

"Would you rather orb straight to the hotel and wait for us there?"

"Nah," he said, smirking. "Who would listen to me whining about my misery until you got there? I'd rather stay here and make your lives miserable, too."

"You could never do that," said Piper, smiling. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he said, smiling back at her. "Now go check on your heritage: I'll be fine."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, Phoebe was checking the library, with Cole on her heels.

"Baby," she said, after turning around and bumping into him for the fourth time, "will you relax? I'm fine now."

"Phoebe, I have a bad feeling about this place. There's obviously nothing here that could interest any of you. Besides, the snow hasn't stopped falling since we arrived here. The last thing I want is to be stuck here in this no power, no phone, dusty place."

She put the book she was examining back on the shelf it had come from and looked at him with some concern.

"You know, I thought you were just grouchy because you, too, got a little car sick, but it seems that this place is really giving you the creeps, isn't it?"

"Sort of."

"Are you sure you didn't feel anything when we walked across the door?"

"No. I just..." -- he shrugged, feeling a little frustrated by his inability to put it in words -- "I don't know. Maybe I **_am_** a little grouchy, after all. But I'll be glad when we're out of here."

"I'll tell you what," she said, smiling and touching his face. "I'll call the library inspection off. There's nothing here but old books and mold, so unless Paige wants to take the piano with her, I think we..."

As they heard the first notes of Pour Elise coming from the next room, Phoebe and Cole exchanged an incredulous look.

"Can Paige play the..." -- Cole was interrupted by Paige's clearly frightened voice.

"Guys?!"

The sound of a door being slammed shut was followed by Paige's scream. Cole and Phoebe rushed towards the door that led to the corridor, but it was closed with a slam before they reached it. They heard footsteps coming down the corridor as Piper and Leo came running from the kitchen.

"Paige?" -- they could hear Piper fumbling with the doorknob, unsuccessfully trying to open the door -- "Paige, are you okay? Orb out here!"

"I can't!"

Meanwhile, Cole had been trying to open the library's door with no success.

"Piper, can you explode this door?" he shouted, and they heard Piper yelp in surprise.

"Cole? Are Phoebe and Ben with you?" she asked, while Leo kept trying to open the door to the room Paige was in.

"Yes, and... Oh, crap!" -- he cursed as the book Phoebe had been examining was opened and its pages started to flip by themselves.

"What?" Piper asked, anxiously.

"Just blow the damn thing up!" he said, quickly backing away from the door and wrapping his arms protectively around Phoebe and Ben as more books started to jump from the shelves and fall on the floor.

"I can't!" came the anguished answer. "Leo, what's going on? And why don't you just orb in there?"

"I've already tried that! No good!"

Phoebe screamed in surprise as the library window slammed open and the snow started to blow inside.

"Leo! Oh God, are you okay?" said Piper.

"What? What happened?" Paige raised her voice to be heard beyond the door and over the song.

"I think he passed out!"

"Hold him," said Phoebe, putting Ben, who was crying at the top of his lungs, in Cole's arms. "Piper, stay away from the door!" she warned, waving her hand towards the door, but no fireball was produced. "What the..." she said, staring at her hand in bewilderment. Then she saw a heavy dictionary flying straight towards Cole and shouted: "Cole, watch out!"

Cole turned around and the book hit him in the chin, almost making him lose his balance. And then, all of a sudden, it was over. The song came to an end in the middle of a verse, and the books laid still on the floor, their pages being flipped only by the wind that still roared through the open window. They heard the sound of a door being opened and then Paige's voice, closer now:

"What happened to Leo?"

Phoebe reached out for the door and opened it, and she and Cole rushed to the corridor, where they found Paige and Piper leaning over Leo, who was still confused and struggling to sit up.

"What was that?" Phoebe said, nervously.

"I don't know," Piper said, curtly. "And I don't intend to stay here to find out. Honey, can you walk?"

"If he can't I'll be glad to carry him," Cole said, before Leo could answer. "Let's just get out of here."

"I can walk," Leo said, in a weak voice. "Just give me some space to breathe."

The others took a step back as Leo got back to his feet, leaning on Piper. A few drops of cold sweat glimmered on his forehead, and he was white as paper as they all started to make their way back to the living room.

"A haunted house..." Piper muttered. "We had to inherit a freaking haunted house, and it's not even from mom's side of the family."

"Where did all this snow come from?" Paige said, looking out though the windows as they reached the living room.

When Cole opened the front door, his heart sank when he saw the snowstorm outside.

"Oh, this can't be good..." Phoebe moaned.

Cole didn't say anything; he just watched the snow with a somber look.

"I don't think we'd go very far without snow tires," Piper said, dejectedly.

"Which, of course, none of us brought," Cole said, frustrated.

"So," Paige said, "any ideas?"

"I suggest you start by closing the door," Leo said, "it's not getting any warmer in here."

"Unbelievable..." Cole muttered as he closed the door. "Well," he said, turning the others, "with our luck, I suppose no cell phone is working, is it?"

Four cell phones promptly emerged from their owners' pockets and purses, all of them with the "no signal" icon ominously blinking on the display.

"It just gets better and better," Cole sighed, clipping his own cell phone back to his belt.

"Okay, I don't wanna sound whiny but I really need to sit down," said Leo. He faltered and Cole caught him just before he fell.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"It's this house," said Piper, giving a defiant look around, "it's doing something to you."

She and Leo were sitting side by side on an incredibly ugly yet surprisingly comfortable two-seat couch. A fake mahogany coffee table stood between them and Paige, who was sitting on a gaudy green stuffed chair matching the two-seat couch and the three-seat sofa on which Cole and Phoebe were sitting, hand in hand. Phoebe had tried to keep Ben in her arms but, after spending the last three hours in the child seat, the toddler had protested vehemently. Cole had then reasoned that, since the boy still wasn't able to take more than a couple of faltering steps without support, he wouldn't get into trouble, and so Ben had been allowed to stand on the floor, and was now happily walking over and over around the coffee table, reaching out for support every now and then.

"If there's something draining our powers," Leo said, tiredly, "and I think there is, it's no wonder I feel so weak: without magic, you'd be regular mortals; I, on the other hand, without magic would be a guy who's been dead for over sixty years now."

"Which means we need to get out of here," Cole said.

"Not to mention that someone in this house obviously doesn't like us," said Phoebe, coming from the kitchen with some ice wrapped in a towel to place on Cole's bruised chin.

"Now that you've mentioned it," Paige said, "can't we try to talk to whoever is haunting the house?" Ignoring their doubtful looks, she pursued: "Maybe they just want to be left alone, or to make sure their remains have a proper funeral, or something. I think it's worth the try, don't you?"

They looked at each other in silence for a moment, and then Piper stood up and said with a sigh:

"I'll see if there are any candles in the kitchen."

"Wait, I'll go with you," said Phoebe, standing up, too.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

"Beloved unknown spirit, we seek your guidance.  
We ask that you commune with us and move among us."

Leo and Cole watched as the girls chanted, but no one answered. Suddenly, Ben, who had been sitting on Cole's knees, watching the scene without much interest, peered up and looked at the center of the circle formed by the five candles. The girls exchanged uncertain looks, and Leo suggested:

"Keep chanting."

As they kept repeating the words of the spell, Ben giggled, still staring at the center of the circle. But then all the candles suddenly burnt out; Ben pouted and gave one last puzzled look towards the spot before turning his attention back to the colorful towel Cole was pressing against his chin.

"That was odd," said Piper, giving the candles an intrigued look. "Should we try again?"

"I guess," said Phoebe. As she picked up the matchbox and lit another match, though, box and match were snapped from her hands by an invisible force, and all the candles were sent to the floor. One of the ceramic figures suddenly exploded, its shattered pieces flying in all directions, and a big one got stuck to the sofa's back, right beside Phoebe.

Cole promptly put his arm around Phoebe's shoulders and pulled her to him. While holding his shaken wife and his son against his chest, he glared at Paige and said:

"No more talking. No more summoning the dead. Just come up with a spell to get us out of here."

"God, I'm freezing," Piper said, bracing herself, "can we use the remaining matches to try and light the fireplace?"

"Let me try," Leo said, picking up the matchbox and crouching in front of the fireplace.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

"That was close."

"How did he do that?"

"Damned if I know. I didn't even know he was here, too."

"Do you think he was trying to warn them?"

"I don't know and I don't care. My main concern now is to have this damn portal opened. Playing haunted house is wearing me out."

"Yeah, me too. So, what do you say? A break?"

"Definitely. Let's get some rest and then, if they still don't open the portal, we'll give them a little extra push."


	3. Bring Back the Magic

As Phoebe handed Ben over to him with a tired sigh, Cole stood up and started to pace back and forth while gently rocking his son, just like she had been doing for the last fifteen minutes. They had tried other ways to lull him, but so far all had failed: every time they tried to stop walking, the toddler would start to cry angrily again.

"Is he okay?" Paige asked, watching with some concern as Ben whined and hid his face on Cole's shoulder.

"Well, he's unharmed," Phoebe said, running her hands through her hair, dejected. "But he's also cold and tired. He didn't sleep properly in the car, and I intended to feed him and tuck him in early when we arrived at the hotel. Now, he can't sleep because he's too excited, and he obviously senses that something is deadly wrong."

She sighed heavily, and Paige nodded in understanding, patting her arm comfortingly. They were all tired and frustrated by then. It was past 7 p.m., and they were still stuck in that forsaken house: the snow still hadn't stopped, Leo and Paige couldn't orb and the cell phones didn't work. Also, they still didn't know what -- or who -- had taken away their powers, or what else was in store for them. The dead didn't answer, and the living couldn't be reached.

"The poor thing just wants his PJs and his cozy, warm crib," Phoebe added.

"Can you blame him?" Piper said, gently fondling Leo's hair, and giving a bitter look around, to that place where someone seemed to hate them, yet refused to let them leave.

Leo was leaning back on the two-seat couch, with his eyes closed, breathing slowly and trying to save energy; still, it was clear to everyone that he was getting weaker each minute. Every now and them, one of the others would cast a worried glance towards his unnaturally pale face, but no one dared to say what they were all thinking: Leo seemed to be slowly fading away, looking more and more like a ghost as time passed.

"How can our powers be gone?" Paige said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "Is there some kind of Hollow here, too?"

"Don't say that. Not even as a joke," Cole promptly said, shuddering as he thought of his very own experience with the Hollow.

He turned his head slightly to look at his son: Ben's head was resting on his father's shoulder, his eyes were closed and the steady pace of his breathing indicated that sleep had finally taken the best of him. Not daring to stop his pacing just yet, though, Cole just nodded at the inquisitive look Phoebe gave him, and this one silently mouthed the words "Thank God".

They all remained in a disheartened silence for a moment, until Paige sighed heavily and said:

"We can't just stay here like sitting ducks! Can't we cast a spell to try and bring our powers back? After all, they're our powers!"

"I'm up for anything," Piper said, shivering and moving closer to Leo. The unimpressive fire he had managed to light didn't do much to warm the large room.

"Phoebe, do you think you can come up with a spell?" Paige asked, turning to her other sister.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to try," Phoebe said. "Does anyone have a piece of paper and a pen?"

"In my purse," Piper said, pointing at it. "It's right there next to yours."

"I'll get them," Paige said. After handing the objects to her sister, she moved back to the chair, while Cole sat next to Phoebe and gently laid Ben between them on the sofa.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

"Walked in the light, to the darkness was taken  
Meant to stand proud, now forsaken  
What Good once had, Evil can't own  
Bring back the magic to where it belongs."

As Piper, Phoebe and Paige finished chanting, they exchanged uncertain looks.

"So... what do you think?" Piper said, looking at her sisters with a doubtful expression.

"I hate to say this, but I don't feel any different," Paige said.

"Well, we didn't feel anything when we first received our powers, either..." said Phoebe, without much conviction.

"Try using your powers," Leo said, with his eyes still closed.

"Pillow," Paige called, pointing at it. When it became clear that nothing was going to happen, there were some heavy sighs and frustrated moans. Suddenly, Piper waved her hands angrily towards the pillow, not exactly feeling surprised when it didn't explode.

Cole ran his hand across his face, fighting the urge to scream in frustration. He had taken off his jacket and covered Ben with it, and the cold seemed to be going straight to his bones. For the first time in several months, the old rage and frustration over his lack of powers flooded him again: his family was hungry and cold, being kept hostage by some evil power, and there was nothing he could do for them.

"Baby," he said, struggling to hold back the anger that wouldn't do them any good, "I know it'll probably be useless, but why don't you try a fireball? God knows we could use a..."

As Cole pointed at the fireplace, the agonizing flames suddenly turned into a quite impressive fire.

For a moment, they all just stood there, looking at the fire in dead silence, too stunned to react.

"Cole, what have you done?" Piper finally asked, warily.

"Nothing," Cole said, quickly lowering his hand. "I did nothing."

Everyone was looking at him now, and he added nervously:

"I don't know how that happened; I didn't mean it to happen."

"That's okay, baby," said Phoebe, placing her hand on his arm, reassuringly. "We know you..."

She was taken aback when Cole pulled away from her and abruptly stood up.

"It's not okay, Phoebe," he said, taking a step away from the group gathered around the now luxurious fire. "It's not okay at all, it's... it's just like last time."

She stood up and made a move towards him, but he held up his hand and said, taking another step back:

"Don't."

"Cole..."

"The void isn't in this house," Cole said, tensely. "The void is inside me. It's been here ever since Belthazor was gone."

Piper opened her mouth to say something, but he didn't give her time to speak.

"That's why the Source was able to possess me, because there's a void in me that can only be filled by evil." His shoulders fell as he finished, dejectedly: "It's happening again."

"Baby," Phoebe reasoned, "this is a different situation. It was black magic then; today it was white magic, and if white magic gave you this power, it means it's a good power. Isn't it?" she asked, turning to Leo.

"Yes," Leo said, but in his weakened, dizzy state he lacked the necessary assertiveness.

"Whatever," Cole said, stubbornly. "Can you undo this?"

"First, I don't think we could," Phoebe said, "and second, I'm not sure we should. This power was given to you for a reason."

The look of genuine fear in his eyes made Phoebe's heart wrench. "My poor love," she thought, "I can only imagine what a nightmare it must have been to you, feeling the Source slowly take control of your body, during all those months." She fought the urge to run to him, as she was afraid that it'd only make him back away further. He looked almost frantic and it scared her not because she believed he'd hurt her, but for what he might do to himself. She looked at Piper for support but, surprisingly enough, the answer to her silent request came from Paige:

"Damn it, Cole!" she snapped angrily, standing up. "We don't have time for this! What do you intend to do? Walk through that door and get lost in the storm?"

Her sudden outburst dumbfounded Cole, and he just looked at her in silence as she proceeded:

"We've asked the Powers That Be for help, and if that's their answer, you'd better get over it! By pulling away from us now you wouldn't be doing us -- or you -- any good: that's exactly how you got yourself into trouble last time. We're **_not _**gonna let evil drag you away again, but you need to stay with us if we are to help you. Now, sit your butt back on that sofa," -- she pointed at the three-seat sofa -- "and let's find out what power is this that you've received and how it's supposed to help us."

As Cole sat down by Phoebe's side again with some reluctance, Leo said, wiping away the cold sweat from his face and sitting up with some effort:

"Cole, since you had no powers to be stolen, you were the only one who wasn't affected by the house. Maybe that's why they had to use you to send us new powers."

The others waited as he painfully caught his breath, since even this short speech seemed to have worn him out.

"Now," he proceeded, "what exactly did you do to the fire?"

"I don't know," Cole said, "I just pointed at it and..."

"Please, leave it as it is," Piper promptly said, extending her hands towards the fire and relishing the heat, "if you must experiment with fire, light a match, will you?"

"Okay, I'll..." 

Cole reached out for the matchbox resting on the coffee table, and his hand accidentally bruised the soaked towel, on which the partially thawed ice had pooled, thus causing the ice cold water to spill down to the floor. "Damn!" he said, and the water froze. Literally.

"What the..." he hesitantly reached out his hand and flicked the ice.

"You know, Cole," Piper said, examining the ice with a critical expression, "when I freeze stuff, I don't actually..."

"I know what you do, Piper," Cole said, with a hint of impatience. But now his curiosity had been pricked, in spite of himself. "What kind of freaky power is this?"

"Try unfreezing it," Phoebe suggested.

Cole waved his hand towards the ice without much conviction, and nothing happened. He waved it again. And again. Finally, he gave the ice an annoyed look.

"So I can freeze, but not unfreeze? That's kinda tricky, isn't it?"

"Don't think unfreeze," Leo said in a tired voice, "think thaw." Cole arched his eyebrows, giving him a doubtful look, and he insisted: "Come on, thaw."

Cole didn't look convinced, but he motioned towards the ice again, saying:

"You heard the man: thaw."

To his amazement the water immediately splashed on the floor.

"So, what is this?" Paige said, intrigued. "A magical power that obliges to the laws of nature?"

Cole gave her an odd look, then pointed at the pooled water and commanded:

"Boil."

The five of them watched in astonishment as the water started to boil and finally evaporated.

"I think," Leo said, struggling to sit straight as he watched Cole with great interest, "that you should try air and earth, now."

"You mean, like in the four elements?" Cole said, raising his eyebrows. "Fire, air, water and earth?"

"Leo, do you have any idea of what's going on or are you just taking chances?" Phoebe said.

"I'm pretty sure I've heard something about a power like this," Leo said. "God, if only my brain wasn't so numb right now! I...." -- he rubbed his face -- "It was during my first years as a Whitelighter, and even then it was already an old story. Some said it was just a legend, some said it had really happened. Or was meant to happen in the future. I can't remember."

"Like a prophecy?" Paige asked.

"Maybe," Leo grimacing as he laid back again.

"Honey, you shouldn't tire yourself like this," Piper said, tears of worry pricking her eyes.

"I don't think I actually have a choice, Piper," -- Leo gave her an apologizing look and raised a very cold hand to caress her cheek -- "If I can't figure this out so that we can't get out of here really soon, I doubt I'll last much longer."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

"Of all people! What were the odds?"

"I told you. Someone down there loves us."

"Are you kidding? We're doomed!"

"Don't be stupid: none of them has any idea of who he is!"

"You think so?"

"Sure! This is just perfect: not only we're gonna get free, but we're also gonna get even."

"I like getting even. Getting even is good."

"Of course it is. Enough talking, now: let's freak some witches out."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"What was that?" Paige said.

"What?" Phoebe said, instinctively reaching out for Ben, who was still sound asleep on the sofa.

Then they heard it again: a heavy thud coming from down the corridor. Followed by a third one. And another one. Cole stood up, looking warily towards the source of the sound, and Phoebe said, nervously:

"You're not going back there by yourself."

"Well, you are not going back there **_at all_**." he said, firmly.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Paige said, standing up, too:

"I'll go with him."

Before Phoebe could object, she added, pointing at her, Piper and Leo:

"Taking care of a toddler, pregnant, worn out. I'll go: end of story."

Phoebe bit her lips, all the more frustrated because she knew her sister was right.

"Just be careful, the two of you," she said.

"We will." Cole said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Then, turning to Paige: "You stay behind me." Without waiting for an answer he headed towards the corridor, with Paige on his heels.

In the corridor, they could see the door to the library waving back and forth, a piece of paper occasionally coming flying through it and landing on the floor. Cole cautiously approached it, followed close by Paige. He reached out for the door, held it still and they both peered inside. The floor was covered with the snow that was still coming through the window that he and Phoebe hadn't bothered to close when they had left the room. But the books, sheets of paper and notebooks flying around the room had nothing to do with wind: some of them were swirling wildly in the middle of the room, while others were being spilled from the shelves, falling heavily on the floor.

For a few minutes, they just stood there, uncertain, then Cole raised his arm and pointed towards the open window. At first, the wind blowing from outside and the wind that started to blow on the inside created a twister that only made things worse. After some time, though, Cole got a hold on it, and the wind blowing inside the room threw all the flying objects through the open window.

"Stay here and keep this door open," he said to Paige before entering the room and walking quickly towards the window. After closing and locking it, he turned back to Paige, who was nervously standing at the doorway, grabbing the doorknob so forcefully that her knuckles were white.

"So," he said, "what do you..."

Without warning, a drawer was spilled from the desk and laid on the floor between then. They watched, tensely, but nothing else happened. After a few moments, Cole carefully approached the drawer, rested one knee on the floor next to it and took a look at its contents.

"I think," he said, while browsing through the papers, most of them covered with a narrow handwriting, "that you, Piper and Phoebe should take a look at this."


	4. Meant to Stand Proud

Note #1: Lauren and BayC, yes, I'm still writing "Roll the Dice, Run for Your Life". Well, at least I'm trying to write. I seem to have hit the biggest writer's block ever, but I still have faith that I'll come around. After all, I can't keep them in domains of the Master of the Game indefinitely!

Note #2: Hjordis, I found it amusing that the WB writers may be using on the show an idea that I have already had: thanks for letting me know. :-) Now, if they could just take the hint and bring Phoebe and Cole back together... >

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Amateurs!..." Piper grunted, waving her head as she looked at the sheet of paper she was holding.

For the past fifteen minutes, she, Phoebe and Paige had been browsing through the contents of the drawer Cole and Paige had brought from the library, and which was now resting on the coffee table, before Phoebe. Piper was still sitting on the two-seat couch, unwilling to leave Leo's side, but Paige had left her chair and was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, stretching her neck to look at the contents of the paper in Piper's hands.

"So," she said, looking up to her older sister, "your great-aunt wasn't a witch?"

"No. Just an eccentric old lady with a taste for the occult," Phoebe said, looking at the bunch of papers in her own hands, "although she obviously couldn't tell real magic from ordinary card tricks. Most of the things here are just harmless nonsense, but it seems that a few weeks before she died she finally bumped into the real thing."

She sighed and added, grimacing:

"The real evil thing."

"And, unfortunately to us," Piper said, sourly, "she unleashed it in the very house she was going to leave to us."

"What exactly did she unleash?" Cole asked, gravely.

"Well, I'm not very sure..." said Piper, giving the papers an annoyed look. "This thing is a mess: she didn't number the pages, didn't write any dates..." -- she sighed heavily -- "But it seems that she started to open a portal to some other dimension."

"Started to?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows. "You mean, the portal isn't open yet?"

"From what I've read here," Phoebe said, "if the portal was fully open, we'd all be dead by now."

"But apparently Aunt Helen managed to set it ajar," Piper added. "And now someone is pushing their way through it."

"But you can close the portal... can't you?" Cole asked.

"There's a spell here," said Phoebe, showing a particularly yellowed piece of paper, "and I **_think _**it'll close the portal, but..."

Phoebe fumbled with the paper, unsure.

"But...?" Cole said, giving her an inquisitive look.

"I don't know," she sighed, uneasy. "I'd rather know more about all this before we start casting spells that were written by God knows who."

"You don't think it was Aunt Helen who wrote it, do you?" Piper asked, with a skeptical look.

"God, no!" Phoebe promptly said, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. "Trust me, this is the work of a professional; it's a first rate spell. But..."

Suddenly, a few ceramic plates came flying across the room, heading straight towards Piper and Leo. Without thinking, Cole raised his hand toward the plates, and they immediately turned into dust.

"Now, what was that?" he asked, giving the dust that now covered the floor an intrigued look. "Earth?"

"Uh-hu," Piper said, nodding. "Ceramic is nothing but cooked clay."

"You know," Paige said, "it seems to me that there are two different forces acting here. One wants us to kill us, and the other wants to help us."

"Well, if I have to choose sides," said Piper, "I'll choose the one that doesn't throw things at me."

"I think you're right," Phoebe said. "I..."

She felt a tug at her jacket, and looked to her right to see Ben sitting on the couch and looking up at her with a still drowsy smile.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi, sweetie," she said softly, smiling back at him and fondling his hair. "Mommy's baby is awake already?"

Ben looked at the jacket that covered him and giggled, patting it and saying:

"Dada."

"That's right," Cole said, smiling and reaching out for him. "That's daddy's jacket. And, guess what, daddy's freezing here: why don't you come sit next to me so that we can share the jacket?"

Ben looked at him, his brow frowning in a look of comic concentration as he debated the idea, then he said, already climbing down the sofa:

"No."

Paige giggled, and Cole rolled his eyes, saying with mock disappointment:

"Now my feelings are hurt."

When Ben reached out for the drawer, though, Cole promptly restrained him, saying:

"No, sir, that's not for you."

He tried to pull the toddler back to the sofa, but Ben protested loudly, struggling to get free:

"NO!!!"

"Hey!" said Cole, frowning. "What's with the attitude, young man?" He leaned forward so that his face was close to his son's and added, sternly: "Your mom and your aunts have work to do here, and we're not supposed to disturb them. Now, let's..."

He was utterly surprised when Ben looked straight into his eyes and said "No no no!" waving a chubby finger at him to punctuate his words.

Something in the way Ben said that made Cole hesitate. In his own babyish way, his one year old son acted as if he somehow knew something the grown ups didn't. He looked at Phoebe and saw that she shared his perplexity.

Phoebe turned to Ben and asked, gently:

"Sweetie, what do you want? Show it to mommy."

Ben turned towards the drawer again as Cole released his grip on him, and gave it an uncertain look. His dream had vanished the moment he woke up, leaving him only with the notion of what he was supposed to do there. The grown ups watched, tensely, as the toddler sucked his lower lip and studied the pile of papers inside the drawer, frowning slightly.

The seconds passed, and Phoebe had to fight the urge to reach out for her baby as she saw the tears threatening to pop in his eyes. Ben was getting disturbed and frustrated: this was so complicated! He was able to understand and follow simple instructions such as "wave bye bye" and "come here", but the task he had been given by the friendly stranger who had talked to him in his dream was way more complex than that, at least for a toddler. Just as he was about to burst into tears of anger and frustration, he finally spotted what he was looking for. He reached out for the piece of parchment and took it from the drawer: it looked no different from the others, but as Ben laid eyes on it he knew it was the right one. Then he circled the coffee table, went straight to Leo and showed him the parchment.

When Leo reached out to receive the parchment from his nephew's hands, Piper covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a cry of horror: she could see right through Leo's hand. Ben gave Leo an intrigued look and reached out to touch his nearly transparent knee with childish spontaneity. He patted it a couple of times with great curiosity, to make sure it was real, before Cole stood up and walked quickly towards him.

"Now, son," he said, while scooping Ben up, "Uncle Leo needs to rest."

This time Ben didn't protest, and snuggled in Cole's arms, slipping into the jacket this one had already put back on and nuzzling his father's chest.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Frederick and Anthony," Leo explained, after reading the paper Ben had handed to him, "were witches. They lived in San Francisco in the end of the 19th century, and they were good witches... until they decided to switch sides."

"They started to use their magic for evil?" Piper said, trying to help her husband. It anguished her to see the enormous effort he had to do to speak.

"No," Leo said, "they started to sell classified information to evil. Future Whitelighters, witches that hadn't received their powers yet... were being killed."

He took a few slow breaths before proceeding:

"Whenever someone was hurt or sick, weakened and unable to protect themselves, evil would know and attack."

"They were double agents," Paige said, twisting her mouth in disgust.

"Exactly."

Again, they had to wait for Leo to recover before he proceeded:

"Eventually, they were found out, judged and sent to this dimension they're in now."

"Some kind of hellish dimension?" Phoebe asked.

"Actually, no."

This time they had to wait for what felt like a really long time before Leo was able to proceed, painfully:

"A realm... out of time and space... Many penitent spirits... purge their souls there... They'd be allowed to come back... when they're ready."

"Obviously, they still need more time," Paige said, sourly.

"Well," Piper said, standing up, "I say we read the spell and send them back to where they came from."

"Amen to that," Phoebe said, standing up, too.

Leo only nodded his agreement; his eyes were closed again, and he had big black circles under them.

As Paige stood up and joined her sisters, Piper held the piece of paper in front of them so that Phoebe and Paige could read the spell, and they started to chant:

__

"Out of men's reach now you stand,"

A strong wind started to blow, coming from nowhere, and Cole held Ben tighter, tensely.

__

"Death can't touch you, but justice can."

Leo could feel life being slowly drained from him. The images of Piper, Phoebe and Paige became more of a blur every second, and the roaring wind that made each girl's hair fly wildly about her face was little more than a muffled sound in the distance to him. And through it all there was this feeling that something was wrong. Terribly, deadly wrong.

__

"Your words of deceit shall be heard no more,"

Then comprehension hit him like a blow, and his eyes snapped open as he finally understood what was happening there.

"It's a trap! STOP!"

The surge of adrenaline gave him strength to raise his voice over the noise, and Piper, Phoebe and Paige immediately stopped chanting and looked at him in bewilderment.

"It's a trap," Leo repeated, weakly. "That's exactly what they want you to do. You're not closing the portal: you're opening it further." Seeing their shocked looks, he explained, dejectedly: "You can't close the portal. No one could but..."

Leo gasped and his eyes grew round as a new revelation struck him. He looked transfixed as he slowly stood up, turning to Cole. This one had already stood, too, at this point, and he looked back at Leo in genuine confusion.

"Oh God..." Leo whispered, thunderstruck. "You are..." -- all color left Cole's face as Leo pointed at him with a trembling hand -- "You're..."

Leo faltered and Piper tried to catch him but, to her dismay, her hands didn't find anything solid to grab. He somehow managed to sit down at the couch again and gathered his final strengths to say to Cole:

"Read... the spell."

"I..." -- Cole winced in pain as Piper grabbed his arm forcefully, showing him the paper with the spell clasped in her trembling hand:

"Just read it," she said, between clenched teeth, almost out of her mind with fear for Leo.

"What if..."

"I don't care if hell is gonna break lose!" she cried, on the edge of tears. "Just read the goddamn spell and close the portal, and we'll deal with the consequences later!"

Cole looked at her, then at Leo, who, at that point, could barely be seen, so transparent he was. He handed Ben over to Phoebe and took the paper from Piper's hands.

__

"Out of men's reach now you stand,"

An unnatural silence fell over the house, a silence so thick that it felt like a presence itself. Even the snowstorm outside seemed to become ominously silent, the wind coming to an impossible halt. In the heavy silence that followed the only sounds were Cole's voice, Leo's ragged breathing and the crackling fire.

__

"Death can't touch you, but justice can."

Piper silently sat by Leo's side. Phoebe held Ben tighter, and the boy clung to her, hiding his face on her neck. Paige put one arm around Phoebe's shoulders, attempting to reassure her sister as much as herself. The fire extinguished without a sound.

__

"Your words of deceit shall be heard no more,"

A low frequency humming sound could be felt more than heard in the room. All eyes were turned to Cole, but suddenly he wasn't aware of them. The power building inside him was both thrilling and frightening, making his skin tingle and his heartbeat quicken. In the back of his mind, he wondered what was happening to him, but a deep feeling of inexorability silenced any questionings.

__

"Your evil deeds shall cause no more sore."

Whilst the reaction to Piper, Phoebe and Paige's chanting had seemed tremendous, it had been nothing compared to the effect of Cole's words. First there was a loud cracking sound. And then it was as if every damned soul in hell was in the room with them, crying and wailing. As the howling wind almost snatched the paper from his hands, Cole clutched it forcefully and proceeded, shouting to be heard over the noise:

__

"Darkness can't help you where you'll be sent."

He felt as if his head was going to split in two at any moment. His brain was on fire; the storm outside seemed nothing compared to the one inside his head. Drops of cold sweat rolled down his face as he proceeded, fighting the cold vertigo that threatened to take him down.

__

"Light won't take you back until you repent."

Somewhere in the distance he could hear Phoebe screaming, but he could no longer distinguish the words. Cole knees buckled; just as he was about to fall down, a strong arm was passed around his waist, sustaining him, and another voice joined his as he managed to say the final words of the spell:

__

"You'll regain your freedom when your souls amend;  
Until then, exiled you shall remain."

As he finally managed to say the last word, Cole felt himself slip into the darkness, away from the blazing pain and the roaring storm, with something akin to relief.


	5. Truth Will Find a Way

Note: You know, I was wondering if any of you would figure out who was trying to help them. I had almost lost hope but then... Give Michelle the prize!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At first, the voices were just faint sounds coming from far away. Slowly, as Cole regained his consciousness, they became closer, until he was able to recognize their owners and the meaning of the words:

"He's been unconscious for too long, Leo. What if he hit his head when he fell?" -- Phoebe sounded anxious.

"He didn't, Phoebe; you saw it yourself," Leo explained patiently. "He's not hurt: he's just exhausted: you have to understand that Cole single-handedly accomplished what the Power of Three couldn't."

Then there was the sound of tiny feet growing closer, and Cole winced as Ben's hand grabbed his nose.

"Dada!" he called, impatiently.

"Sweetie, let dad... Oh, baby, you're awake!" -- Phoebe's face lightened when she saw Cole open his eyes and give her a confused look.

As he sat up and hugged her tight, Cole looked at Leo over her head and was glad to see that, even though he still looked pale and tired, the Whitelighter had lost that ominous translucent quality.

"Is the portal closed?" Cole asked, while helping Ben as the toddler struggled to climb up the sofa. He couldn't help but smile as he pulled his son towards him with one arm, while the other was still wrapped around Phoebe.

"Yes," Leo said, smiling, "thanks to you."

Cole gave him a curious look, then turned his eyes to the left, where he could see Piper and Paige sitting side by side on the two-seat couch. The tension of earlier had left their faces, but there was something in the way they were looking at him, a mix of curiosity and expectation.

Then the previous events came back in a rush, and he swirled his head to the right with a start, gasping at the sight of the man who had been sitting on the green stuffed chair, patiently waiting.

Cole was barely aware of the fact that Phoebe was gently taking Ben from his arms; his eyes were locked on the blue eyes that looked exactly like his own, and like his son's as well. He, Ben and the newcomer also shared the tan complexion and the strong jaw line, but not the dark hair that had come from his mother: the man gazing lovingly at him had russet hair and mustache.

"Dad?" Cole said, with a hesitant, almost fearful voice. His father's presence at that house, even as a ghost, was impossible. It was against all logic, and Cole knew that. But at that moment he was beyond logic, beyond the rational thinking of a grown up. Right then, Cole wasn't a grown up; he was three again, frightened and confused, wondering where dad was and when he would come take them back home.

Cole cautiously stood up, moving ever so slowly, as if any abrupt movement could cause his father to vanish into the air. His heart was pounding furiously inside his chest, and his throat felt closed tight. The two men looked at each other in silence for a moment, then Benjamin simply opened his arms and his son fell into his loving embrace without a word.

Benjamin Turner felt hot tears pricking behind his eyes. Was this tall man -- a few inches taller than him, actually -- the three-year-old boy that used to look at him with eyes round with wonder as he sat on the edge of his bed and told him bedtime stories? _Yes!_ his heart screamed in joy, _Yes! My son! Taken away from me in the past, and now brought back to me!_

"Son..." he whispered hoarsely, holding Cole tight against his heart.

Father and son stood like that for a while, until Benjamin unwillingly pulled away to look Cole in the eyes. He'd like to hold his son for a lot longer, for another 116 years if possible, to compensate for the time they had been kept apart, but there were things that must be said, and he wasn't sure of how long he'd be allowed to stay there with his son now that the shield cast by Frederick and Anthony had been removed.

"So," he said, examining Cole's face with some concern, "how do you feel? Closing that portal took an enormous amountof energy."

"I'm fine. I think," said Cole, even though he still felt slightly shaken. It had indeed taken a huge amount of energy, and he found it quite unsettling not to know where the hell all that energy had come from.

He gave his father an intrigued look and asked:

"Did you... Was that you, helping me say the words?"

"Yes," said Benjamin, smiling. "I figured out you'd need some help there."

"You'll bet," Cole said, smiling back at him. "But, dad, how did you do that?" He hesitated, then asked: "How did **_I_** do that?"

Benjamin looked at his son in silence for a while, wondering what he was going to say.

"Son," he finally said, resting his hand on Cole's shoulder, "we need to talk." He thought a little, then added: "And I think you'd better sit down."

Cole gave him a puzzled look as he obliged and sat by Phoebe's side on the sofa. He held her hand in his and looked at her, then back at his father:

"Uh, I believe you've met my family?..."

"Yes," Benjamin said with a smile that encompassed everyone in the room.

He had a warm, captivating smile that made one want to smile back at him. Looking at him, Phoebe wondered if Cole would have been like that, too, had he been raised in a different environment. She knew by then that the charming smile Cole so often showed, the one that had won her over the minute he had turned it in her direction, was more of a cultivated feature, a skill he had developed when he was a demon blending in the human world. His "real smile" as she called it, the one that actually came from his heart, was reserved for the few privileged ones that he trusted and loved. It was frequently directed towards her and Ben; and over the past months, she was glad to see that it had started to show up more and more frequently when he was around the rest of the family.

Benjamin, on the other hand, seemed to be a man who smiled often and to everyone. "Like Ben," Phoebe thought. It occurred to her that it was the smile of a man who loved life and his fellow men, who as a rule expected the best from everyone and had an unshakable faith in Good. In short, not the kind of smile one would expect from a man who had been killed by his own wife and whose son had been taken to the Underworld and raised as a demon.

"Hi!" -- Ben's voice cut her musings as he greeted his grandfather with his typical enthusiasm.

"Hi," Benjamin said, smiling at him.

Ben was already squirming in her arms, trying to climb down the sofa again, so Phoebe placed him on the floor and watched with a smile as he took some short, tottering steps towards Benjamin. This one reached out and helped him through the last steps of the way, scooping him up and sitting him on his lap.

"Hi," Ben said again, grinning. The only other words he knew were "no", "dada" and "mama", so "hi" would have to do.

"Hi, again," Benjamin said, with an amused smile. Then turning to Cole: "It's quite the young man you two have here. You should be proud of him."

"Was it you who told him to give me the paper containing the history of Frederick and Anthony?" Leo asked, curious. Most of the color had already come back to his face, mostly thanks to the magic that had been unleashed when the portal had been closed, but also tothe fire that Phoebe had lighted again first thing as her powers had been returned to her.

"Yes," Benjamin said. He gave Cole and Phoebe an apologizing look as he explained: "Under normal circumstances, I'd never pull a child into this, but I couldn't contact the rest of you, and I just **_had _**to prevent you from unknowingly opening the portal..."

"That's alright," Phoebe said, understandingly. "But I'm surprised that you weren't able to contact us: usually, we can see ghosts. I mean," she added, with some embarrassment, "you're a ghost, aren't you?"

"Yes," Benjamin said, smiling, "I'm a ghost. But I was also trying to contact you from another dimension, so..." -- he frowned slightly -- "Oh well, I quite don't understand it myself..." -- he shrugged -- "The fact is, I couldn't. So, this little one here was my only hope. And," he added, playfully unsettling the boy's hair and making him giggle, "he did very well."

"And in the library," Paige said, "was it you who threw that drawer on the floor?"

"No, uh... Paige, right?" Benjamin said, giving her an interrogative look. She nodded and he proceeded, explaining: "That was Frederick and Anthony, trying to lure you into reading the spell."

"It was quite a risky move, wasn't it?" Leo said, putting his arm around Piper and watching Benjamin with great interest. "I mean, considering Cole was here, too. Do you think they didn't know who he was?"

"They probably didn't know when you arrived here," Benjamin said. "But I'm sure they figured it out when they saw the effects of the spell. Which, by the way," he added, turning that killing smile towards Phoebe, "was a first rate spell, too, if I may."

"Thanks," said Phoebe, beaming with pride.

"Okay, how long was I unconscious?" Cole asked, starting to feel uncomfortable. "Why do I have this feeling that everyone knows something I don't?"

"I'm sorry, son," Benjamin said with an apologizing smile, reaching out and placing his hand on Cole's arm. "Actually it wasn't that long, even if it felt like an awful lot of time for us, sitting here and waiting for you to regain your consciousness."

Cole smiled back at him, but he couldn't help to feel some apprehension as he wondered what his father had to tell him.

"But, you see," Benjamin explained, "I had to introduce myself: the way your family was looking at me, I was afraid they were going to send me back to the very place I had so much trouble leaving."

As Cole averted his eyes, Benjamin promptly assured him:

"Of course, it was much better than the place I was before you sent me there, son."

Seeing the look in the eyes of Phoebe, Leo, Piper and Paige, he added, raising his eyebrows:

"But I see your family doesn't know this story..."

"Hum, no," Cole said, uneasy. He could feel the stares of the others, so he sighed and explained: "When I first came after the Charmed Ones, I had a deal with the Triad: I'd kill the Charmed Ones and they'd release my father's soul."

"Release?" Phoebe repeated, surprised. "Were you being kept prisoner?"

"Yes," Benjamin said. He didn't say why or how evil had imprisoned him, though, and Phoebe thought she'd better let him tell his story at his own pace.

"But Cole, you didn't keep your part of the deal," Leo said, intrigued.

"Not then," Cole said, lowering his eyes and staring at his feet. "But I had a... second chance. When I killed that witch at the manor."

"You told me that Raynor had put a spell on you," Phoebe said, shocked.

"He did," Cole said, almost in a whisper. What he wouldn't give not to have to think of that awful night again! "But he also said that he'd give me back my father's soul if I killed her."

Phoebe had tears in her eyes; she didn't bother to wipe them away as she cupped his face between her hands and kissed him gently.

"You should've told me then, baby," she said, softly.

"So," said Leo, "Raynor kept his part of the bargain?"

He wasn't any less dumbfounded than the others by what Cole was just telling them; since Phoebe and Cole had left the Underworld for good, and he and Cole had grown to be friends, Leo always felt terrible as he thought of how long it had taken for him to accept Cole, to even give the other man the benefit of the doubt. Leo would be glad to talk about it later, but right then he, just like Benjamin, didn't expect the Elders to allow that family reunion to last indefinitely: he expected them to summon him and Benjamin up there at any moment, and he wanted Cole to learn all the truth about his past before that happened. Actually, Leo intended to make the Elders wait for as long as he managed to resist their summoning. _Damn, I bet they knew it all along! Couldn't they have told me? I'd have been able to help him, then. And of course, we wouldn't have nearly died in this hellhole._ Leo pushed those angry thoughts aside as Cole answered his question.

"He did," Cole said, slowly relaxing as he felt Phoebe's loving arms around him, and saw no reproach in the eyes of Leo, Piper and Paige. "But I couldn't help my father go back to, uh... well, wherever it is that the souls of the innocents go. So I had this sorcerer I knew release his soul at this dimension..." -- he gave his father a sheepish look -- "I didn't know which dimension you'd be sent to, but I didn't know what else to do."

"Considering the circumstances," Benjamin said, patting his arm and giving him a reassuring smile, "you did your best. And," he added, "it ended up being a very good thing, because if I wasn't there I wouldn't have been able to help you today."

He looked down at Ben, who had fallen asleep, leaning against his chest, so trusting as if they had known each other forever. Benjamin felt a pang of longing as he thought of his own little boy, who had looked so much like this one and used to fall asleep in his arms the same way. A shadow crossed his face briefly before he turned to Cole and said:

"Maybe I should hand him back to you now."

As Cole carefully took his son from Benjamin's arms, the toddler protested in a sleepy voice, without even opening his eyes:

"No. Mama."

"Okay, then," said Cole, smiling as he gently placed him in Phoebe's arms. "Here is mommy."

He glanced at his watch and realized with some surprise that it was past 8 p.m. While Phoebe snuggled Ben in her arms, Cole turned to his father again and asked:

"Dad, what happened here? Why did you want me to read the spell? And," -- he looked at Leo -- "how did Leo knew that I was the one who should read it?"

"Only you could send Frederick and Anthony back through the portal, son," Benjamin explained, gravely, "because I was the one who sent them to that dimension the first time."


	6. Answers 1

Note: So, now I can say it without giving the story away: Mary Hines planted the seed of this story in my mind more than a year ago, but what finally made it sprout was Jolynn's story, "Cole's Resurrection". Thank you, Jolynn, for a wonderful story. :-)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"You... uh... how..." Cole stammered, staring at his father in shock and confusion. Finally, he turned to Leo, saying accusatorily: "You said they had been judged!"

"They were," Leo said.

He saw the suspicious look in Cole's eyes and added, defensively:

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the whole story back then: I was fading away, I couldn't think straight. I had heard about Frederick and Anthony, I remembered it when I read the story, but I only made the connection between them and your power when the girls were chanting, and..."

"What!" Cole said, shocked. "That power? It was **_their _**power? Damn it, Leo, you said it was a good power, that the Elders had sent it to me because..."

"Son, it **_is _**a good power," Benjamin said, placing his hand on Cole's shoulder and making him turn towards him again. "It wasn't Frederick's, and it wasn't Anthony's. But it wasn't sent by the Elders, either. Remember, you were incommunicado here. No magic from outside could have reached you, not even the Elders."

"Who sent it, then?" Cole asked, dumbfounded.

"No one sent it, son," Benjamin explained, patiently. "It was here all the time. In you. The spell just unbound it."

"The spell... No, dad, you're wrong," Cole said. "My powers..."

He hesitated: did his father know what his mother was? Cole's memories of the life he lived before his father was killed were just a blur. Did Benjamin know that his son was -- had been -- half demon? And if he didn't, how would he react when he was told? The idea of seeing fear or disgust in his father's eyes was unbearable, and it took all Cole had to take a deep breath and say, looking right into his father's eyes:

"I had powers, dad, but they were nothing like this one. They were demon powers."

Benjamin opened his mouth to reply, but Cole proceeded, quickly:

"And they weren't bound: they were vanquished. My... demon self no longer exists."

"I had pretty much figured that out, son, after seeing the way you reacted when your powers were unbound," Benjamin said, smiling.

Cole opened his mouth to explain again that those weren't his powers, but his father held up his hand to silence him up.

"And I'm sorry that the powers you inherited from your mother have caused you so much sorrow," he added, gently.

Cole stared at him, dumbfounded, but it was nothing compared to what he felt when his father concluded:

"But I'm talking about the powers you inherited from me."

Benjamin waited patiently as the meaning of his words sank in.

"Dad..." Cole said, warily. "What am I? What are we?"

"Witches, son," Benjamin said, as gently as possible. "We're witches."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Next thing Cole knew, he was lying on the sofa again, looking up at the very worried faces that leaned over his. He tried to sit up again, but Benjamin's hand was on his shoulder, pushing him back down.

"No, sir," he said, firmly, "that was quite the scare you gave us... twice."

"I just want to sit up," Cole protested.

Seeing Benjamin and Leo exchange a doubtful look, Cole raised himself on his elbow, saying:

"What are the the two of you keeping from me? What's going on?"

He turned to Leo, feeling angry and deceived:

"Did you know what was happening to me? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Cole, calm down, okay? I knew nothing," Leo assured. "I told you, I had heard about Frederick and Anthony's judgement, and about the spell that sent them to that other dimension, but it was decades before we even met. I didn't know the name of the witch that had cast the spell, and I'd never have made the connection between the two of you: there was no mention of a child... or a wife."

"The judgement took place a couple of years before I met my wife," Benjamin explained, and Cole swirled his head towards him, surprised by the tenderness that showed in his father's voice as he mentioned the woman that had killed him.

"Son," Benjamin said, "you've gone through quite an ordeal today; you should lie down for a while. Here," he added, reaching out for a pillow, "put this under your head, but please don't try to sit up just now. I'll tell you everything you want to know, but you need to rest."

The look of love and concern in his father's eyes made Cole feel a bit ashamed of his previous outburst.

"Sure, dad," he said, meekly allowing Phoebe to pull him back down, to rest his head on the pillow that she had placed on her lap, and taking her hand in his own.

"Good," Benjamin said, smiling.

He reached out for his son's free hand, and Cole gladly held his father's hand. He indeed felt spent, and there were worse things than lying in his wife's arms, one hand caught in hers and the other held by his father's, relishing in the heat that came from the crackling fire and knowing that his family was safe and sound. He shifted position slightly and saw that Leo had sat on the couch again, with his arm around Piper, and this one was resting her head on her husband's shoulder. Paige had pulled a chair next to the two seat couch and sat there with Ben, now sound asleep, in her arms.

Cole sighed with something akin to contentment and turned his eyes back to his father, who was sitting on the edge of the coffee table and smiling lovingly at him.

"Now," Benjamin said, "where do you want me to start from?"

Cole bit his lower lip, pondering the question. There were so many things he wanted to know! He looked into Benjamin's eyes, and the words came out of his mouth almost on their own:

"Dad, why did you marry my mother?"

"Because I loved her," Benjamin said, simply. He seemed surprised and a bit amused by the question.

Cole hesitated slightly, then asked:

"When did you find out she was, uh, a demoness?"

"When did I...?" -- Benjamin's eyebrows shot up -- "Son, I always knew what your mother was!"

Now it was time for Cole's eyebrows to raise as high as possible.

"You did??"

"Sure," Benjamin stated. "Did you think your mother had lied to me? Don't you know anything about us?"

"Uh, no," Cole said, still staring at him in confusion. "Mother said..." -- his face crumpled with grief as he forced himself to dig into memories that had been buried for more than a century, so deep that until then he didn't know they were even there -- "She said that you had faked your own death. That we should tell everyone that you were dead, and never mention your name, not even when we were alone, or we'd be putting you in danger."

He didn't notice the hot tears running down his cheeks until Phoebe's gentle hand wiped them away.

"I just... I believed her, what else could I do?" he said, in a choked voice.

Benjamin nodded his head and squeezed the cold hand he held in his a little tighter, with a look of infinite pain in his eyes.

"For several years I went to bed every night hoping that tomorrow would be the day you'd come take us back home, and everything would be fine again. Until it sank in that we weren't just pulling an act: that you'd never come back and... things would never be fine again." -- Cole's voice was little more than a whisper as he finished.

"I'm sorry, son," Benjamin said. "I never expected things to turn out that way, I swear." Then, much to Cole's astonishment, he added: "And neither did your mother."

Seeing the five pairs of very surprised eyes turned towards him, Benjamin sighed and started to tell his story.


	7. Answers 2

"Have you heard about the rebellion of the Vessels of Wrath?" Benjamin asked.

Leo took a sharp intake of breath, and Benjamin turned an approving smile towards him.

"I see they still give Whitelighters proper training up there."

"Was that you?" Leo asked, deeply impressed.

"That was us," Benjamin said. His smile faded when he noticed the confused look in Leo's eyes. "They didn't tell you I had accomplished that by myself, did they?"

"Actually, they did," Leo said. "They said that a witch had vanquished Asmodeus and..."

Leo stopped as he saw Benjamin's pained expression.

"I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed, "I didn't mean to..."

"Well, it's not your fault," Benjamin sighed. "You're just repeating what you've been told." Then, turning to Cole: "Just out of curiosity, son, how do they tell this story in the Underworld?"

"They say the Source himself hunted Asmodeus down," Cole said.

"I hate to say that," Benjamin said, with a sad smile, "but I like the Source's version better. The Elder's version makes me feel like a fraud."

He sighed and proceeded:

"But I guess I should start by telling the ladies about the rebellion. And the two of you" -- he pointed at Cole and Leo -- "had better forget all you have heard about it and listen to me, because this is first hand testimony."

The others listened with great interest as he explained:

"Asmodeus was one of the demons known as the Vessels of Wrath. In 1882, he incited some of his peers to mutiny against the Source. While the fact that the Underworld was being torn apart, with demons fighting among themselves, was good news for the side of Good, the bad news was, Asmodeus didn't choose targets: he and his followers attacked both sides with the same murderous fury. Also, they were maniacs: they killed for pleasure and didn't care about the risk of exposure."

Both Cole and Leo nodded in silence: so far, Benjamin's story matched what they had learned.

"I wasn't given the details of the negotiations. All I know is that the Source sent his ambassadors, the Elders sent theirs, and both parts agreed that Asmodeus had to be stopped. So, a witch was assigned by the Elders, and a demoness was sent by the Source... and that's how I met your mother," he said, looking at Cole.

"So, you worked together," Cole said, stunned. "You and mother... vanquished Asmodeus?"

"Yes, we did," Benjamin said.

"And you... fell for her?"

"Well, not immediately," Benjamin said, smiling as the memories came back to him. "Actually, we hated each other at first sight. You see, I was convinced that the Elders were making a terrible mistake, and found the idea of working with a demon just outrageous. And your mother felt pretty much the same way about me. But we had a mission to accomplish, and were both determined to see it through no matter what. We both agreed that it'd be easier if your mother stayed at my house until the mission was over; I lived alone, so she just had to stay out of sight in the morning, while the housemaid was there."

Cole gave him an inquisitive look, and Benjamin explained, shrugging:

"It was the Victorian Age: a man and a woman living under the same roof without being married... it'd have been the end of my career, had somebody found out."

"At first," he proceeded, "we tried to deal with it as quickly and with as little interaction as possible, put it behind us and get back to our lives." -- Benjamin chuckled slightly and waved his head -- "Of course, that not only didn't work but also we almost got ourselves killed. Finally, we accepted the fact that we'd have to work as a team if we were to defeat Asmodeus."

"Long story short, it took us a full six months to vanquish Asmodeus, but we finally did it. Once their leader was dead, the mutineers were easily defeated, and it was time for your mother to return to the Underworld... except that by that time I knew that I could never let her go."

A somewhat dreamy smile lingered on Benjamin's lips as he concluded:

"So I proposed to her."

"And she said yes?" Cole asked. He looked just like a little boy listening to a fairy tale, staring at his father with eyes bright with wonder.

"Well," Benjamin said, "not right away. First she went on, and on, and on, about how I was insane, and how she would have let Asmodeus finish me had she known I harbored a death wish, and how it was impossible... but eventually, yes, she said she'd marry me."

"Why?" Cole couldn't help but asking.

"Well," his father said with a mock insulted tone, "I like to think that it was because she loved me as much as I loved her."

"But, dad," Cole said, hesitantly, "she was a demon. She couldn't... demons can't love."

He immediately regretted his words as he saw Benjamin's expression sadden, but his father's next words surprised him.

"Do you think she didn't love you, son?"

Cole stared back at his father, not knowing what to say. Did he? That question had never bothered him when he was evil. He and his mother had never talked about that, as far as he could remember. He had never wondered if she loved him, just like he had never wondered if the sun would rise in the West the morning after. It was one of those things that are so impossible that you don't even give them enough thought to conclude that they're impossible. She had been a safe haven to a little boy, a strong hand disciplinarian and a role model to a teenager, and an ally and a partner to a grown up man. What's more, she was his; deep down he had always known that she belonged to him in a way she didn't belong to any other creature. And as for the "L" word... well, demons just didn't use it, period. She was his, and that was enough. At least it had been enough until he became a parent himself, and felt his heart swell with love for his own little boy.

Seeing the confusion and worry on his son's face, Benjamin said, softly:

"She loved you, son. I don't know what happened between the two of you after..." -- he hesitated. _Not yet. We'll have to go down that road, help me God, but not yet_. -- "While I wasn't around, but I can assure you that your mother loved you. Deeply. If you don't believe anything else I say to you today, at least believe this: she loved you just as much as any creature, human or not, could love another."

The sight of his son furrowing his brow and chewing his lower lip, struggling not to cry, had Benjamin fighting to hold back his own tears. He wondered if Cole knew that his mother reacted that same stubborn way to things that hurt or confused her. And that whenever she did that, stiffening and balling her fists, he'd pull her towards him and keep her captive against his heart until she relaxed and allowed him to comfort her.

"But she..."

"She was a demon, thus she couldn't love," said Benjamin. "Yes, I heard you the first time you said that."

He smiled and added:

"That's a very understandable misconception, son."

Seeing Cole's eyebrows shoot up, he asked:

"Do you know what a sophism is?"

"Something that may appear to be a correct reasoning, but is not," Cole said, mindfully. "Right premises leading to a wrong conclusion."

"Very good," Benjamin said, smiling. "I'm glad to see that all those evenings I spent discussing logic with your mother weren't a waste of time."

He looked at the five people staring at him with intrigued looks and proceeded:

"Consider this: major premise, there's no evil love; minor premise, demons are evil. Conclusion: demons can't love. Right?"

Cole just stared at him in a bewildered silence while Benjamin answered his own question:

"Wrong. That's an excellent example of sophism. Can't you see why?"

Getting no response, he proceeded, patiently:

"Let me give you another example. Major premise: there's no such thing as 'good hate'."-- he looked at Leo -- "Right?"

Leo nodded, just as puzzled as Cole was, and Benjamin proceeded:

"Minor premise: Whitelighters are good. Right?"

Again, Leo nodded.

"So, can we come to the conclusion that Whitelighters can't hate?"

"No," Leo promptly said. "Whitelighters can hate, just like everyone else. But they **_choose _**not to. They may **_feel _**anger, but they don't **_give in _**to it: that's what makes them good and..." -- Leo's jaw dropped as Benjamin's reasoning dawned on him, and this one smiled and nodded in approval.

"Likewise," he said, "it's not that demons don't love because they're evil; they're evil because they don't love."

He looked at the astounded faces turned towards him and proceeded, in a teaching tone:

"When a snake bites you, you don't say that it's evil. It's just being a snake. The snake couldn't be anything else; it couldn't act differently. Demons, on the other hand..." -- he held up his hands -- "See, I'm not saying that demons are just like humans; sure they have a great amount of inherent hate, that makes it extremely unlikely that one of them chooses good against evil. But think about it: if demons were just incapable of doing good, could we blame them for doing evil?

Benjamin smiled at their puzzled looks.

"Oh well, you can think that over later," he said, good-naturedly. "For now, just be kind enough to believe that my wife loved me, and that she gave me the five happiest years of my life."

From the look on their faces, it was clear that they would definitely need some time to think that over, but that didn't upset Benjamin. Despite the incurable optimism that often made the Elders wave their heads and sigh in exasperation, he was no fool: he knew that even the most open minded people needed time to adjust to new concepts, and that those who changed opinion too quickly often changed back just as fast. Also, one look at Cole's face was enough to assure Benjamin that he didn't have to worry about the one thing that mattered the most for him: whatever Erzsebet's wrongs might have been, they hadn't been enough to severe the bond between mother and son. While Cole's mind might need time to accept the reasoning about demons and love, the specific fact that his mother loved him was something his heart clearly had no trouble accepting.

"Dad," Cole finally said, "how did the Elders... and the Source react?"

"Well," Benjamin said, with a sigh, "we didn't go ask for the Source's blessing, so I can't tell you what his reaction was but, if it was anything like the Elders' reaction, I pity the demon who delivered the news."

"Did you tell them before or after the two of you got married?" Leo asked, thinking of his own failed attempt to marry Piper in secret.

"Well..." -- Benjamin scratched his head, for the first time looking slightly embarrassed -- "I didn't actually get the chance to tell them. Samson -- my Whitelighter -- he, hum, sort of bumped into Erzsebet and I, and we... well, there was no need for words. Obviously, that wasn't how I intended to break the news... And, after that, everything happened very fast."

Benjamin sighed sadly and added:

"I lost my right to a Whitelighter that same day."

He gave Cole a sad look and added:

"If I had handled things better then, instead of burning the bridges the way I did, things might have turned out differently..." -- he stared at the fire for a while, pensively -- "Or maybe not. I'll never know; I guess that's one of those things you just have to live with. Anyway," he said, turning to Cole again, "I regret some of the things I said then. Sam wasn't just a Whitelighter; he was also a good friend, and he was doing what he thought was the best for me. But I was..." -- he smiled that dreamy smile again -- "as in love as one could possibly be. I couldn't think of anything but the fact that your mother had agreed to marry me, and it was... intoxicating. Nothing else seemed to matter then."

Cole instinctively pressed Phoebe's hand tighter against his heart, and she squeezed his hand, smiling softly. They knew the feeling. On the two-seat couch, Piper cuddled with Leo and he affectionately kissed her forehead.

"So, you married her," said Cole. "In...?"

"1883," his father said. "January 13th."

"And no one tried to stop you?"

"Ironically enough," Benjamin said, "both sides shared the same opinion: everyone thought it'd be just a matter of time before your mother turned me into evil. But the Elders wouldn't do anything against me before I was officially evil, and the Source was patient enough to wait until we both showed up in the Underworld, willing to do his bidding."

"But you didn't," Cole said, giving his father a hesitant look. "Right?"

"Son," Benjamin said, smiling, "I said we're witches, not warlocks. But the Source just couldn't believe that he had lost his grip on one of his upper level demons, so he concluded that your mother was doing what **_he _**would have done in her position. And the Elders..."

"... were just being the Elders," Piper said. Benjamin turned to her, surprised, and she said, shrugging: "They can be queasy sometimes."

"Yes, I'm afraid they can," Benjamin said, amused. "But they let us be, and we were both grateful for that. We had two wonderful years... well, when your mother was pregnant with you, it wasn't wonderful **_all _**the time, but..."

"How did she get pregnant?" Cole asked, interrupting him. Benjamin raised his eyebrows, and Cole promptly explained himself: "I mean, demons and humans... there's no such thing as accidental pregnancy."

"No, there's not," Benjamin said. "Your mother taught me how to prepare the potion that'd allow her to get pregnant."

"And you agreed?"

"Yes," Benjamin said, looking genuinely surprised. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well... Did you know I'd be half demon?" Cole said.

"Your mother being a demoness, it was pretty much expected, son," Benjamin said, patting Cole's hand and giving him a reassuring smile. "And no, that didn't bother me, if that's what's worrying you. Remember, your mother was one hundred percent demon, and I loved her with all my heart."

Cole smiled back at him, and shifted position slightly on the sofa. Looking up at everyone was starting to make him dizzy.

"Dad, can I sit up now?" he asked. "I feel better already, I promise."

Benjamin and Leo exchanged a quick look again, and Leo said:

"I think it won't do any harm. Right now, I'm more concerned about him using his powers again."

"Trust me," Cole said, already sitting up, "that won't happen anywhere in the near future." Seeing Benjamin arch his eyebrows, he added, giving his father an embarrassed look: "It's exhausting!..."

"It won't be always that bad, son, I promise you," Benjamin said, amused. "Under normal circumstances, you'd never have started with such a powerful spell; you were like someone who had never exercised before, running the marathon. Now," he added, painfully conscious of the time going by, "where was I?"

"Mother got pregnant," Cole said.

"Right," Benjamin said. "And it was a very difficult time for her. She couldn't use her powers, because yours kept interfering with them. I can only imagine how frustrating it was for her."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Cole sighed.

"Also," Benjamin proceeded, "I knew that your mother had never been pregnant before, but if I knew how little she knew about it, I'd certainly have made her read some books before I gave her that potion."

"Why?"

"You see," Benjamin said, giving Cole a sheepish smile, "I'm a Victorian man. I understand that things have changed a lot since the 19th century, but back then it wasn't a man's job to know anything about babies. Basically, all I knew was that they were small and fragile, and that they cried a lot, and that they required lots of diapers -- although I wasn't aware of many details involving the said diapers," he added, grimacing. He smiled at their amused faces and concluded: "And I'm ashamed to say that I assumed that, just for being a woman, your mother would know what to do."

"I see..." Cole said. "You know, when I started to lose my baby teeth, she thought I was going to die," he added, smiling at the memory.

"I see you got the picture," Benjamin said, chuckling. "Your mother had never **_seen _**a diaper in her entire life: she had no idea of what their use was. And, had she had a say about it, your first meal would have consisted on the same things we had for dinner."

"Oh dear..." Phoebe whispered, between greatly amused and utterly shocked.

"But you didn't let her feed me with roast beef and potatoes, did you?" Cole asked, horrified.

"No, son," Benjamin said, patting his arm. "By the time you were born, I had already realized how clueless your mother was. I guess even the most obtuse man would have figured that out if his wife had jolted him awake at 3 a.m., claiming that there was something wrong with the baby and demanding that he did something about it."

He smiled at Cole's inquisitive look and added:

"She was so frantic that it took me a good five minutes to make any sense of what she was saying, but eventually I managed to convince her that it's a good thing when the baby kicks."

"So... she was worried?" Cole said with a smile. His mother had a strict self-control: even her wrath had a cold quality that made it all the more terrifying. Cole couldn't remember ever seeing her frantic, he couldn't even picture her frantic. And he liked the idea of her being out of her mind with worry for him. 

"She was in a panic," Benjamin said. "During her entire life, your mother had developed many 'human' skills to help her in her assignments: as the wife of a politician, she was irreproachable. She was the perfect hostess, a bright interlocutor and a wonderful dancer. But when it came to babies, she could take lessons with any peasant. And, actually, she did."

Seeing Cole's interrogative look, Benjamin asked, raising his eyebrows:

"You don't remember Miss McLeod at all?"

"I'm afraid no," Cole said, waving his head.

"She moved into our house the day you were born," Benjamin said. "An excellent woman: very simple, but with more common sense in her little finger than most people have in their brains. You own your life to her," he added, smiling, "between your mother and I, you wouldn't have lasted a week."

"Did she have an accent?" Cole asked, tentatively.

"Yes," Benjamin said, "a very strong one. And she talked endlessly, so it's no wonder you remember that."

"I..." -- Cole hesitated. The memories seemed to be close now, like something that had been sunk deep down in the water and was now finally making its way back to the surface. _Like a dead body_. He shuddered: suddenly, he didn't want to hear anything else, he didn't want to remember. A cold cloak of fear wrapped around him, and he reached out for Phoebe's hand again, knowing that not all the memories his father would share with him that night would be pleasant. Some of them would bring drowned corpses out of the dark, deep waters they had been in for so long.

"Dad..." he finally said. "What went wrong?"


	8. Answers 3

Benjamin's expression saddened; he lowered his eyes to his hands, staring at them for a while before finally raising his head to face Cole again.

"I don't know if the Source planned it all along, son, or if he just had the perfect timing, and knew exactly when to lay his clutches on your mother again."

He hesitated, feeling his heart wrench as dark memories flooded him, and wishing he could spare his son from the knowledge of how terribly wrong things had actually gone. But Benjamin had a feeling that Cole already knew most of it, even if the memories had been pushed to some dark corner of his mind. Now it was time for those memories to be finally brought to the light and forced to show their ugly faces. Only then could they be exorcised for good and his family would have a chance to move on. Still, he couldn't resist the temptation to prolong their reprieve a little longer as he talked about the blissful years that had preceded his death.

"After you were born, your mother's powers went back to normal; that was a great relief for both of us, considering I was still a witch, even without the Elders' approval, and innocents still crossed my way every now and then. What's more, the realization of how hopeless she'd have been without Miss McLeod's coaching, combined with the fact that now she had a newborn baby to love and care, did wonders to your mother's temper."

He couldn't help but smile a little as he added:

"And, consequently, to the china. There was, hum, a lot of plate throwing during the first year of our marriage."

Benjamin shrugged at their flabbergasted faces.

"Well," he reasoned, "Erzsebet had an excellent aim, so I take the fact that she never actually hit me as a sign that she just needed an outlet while adjusting to the rules of civilized human society."

"Anyway," he proceeded, turning to Cole again, "with Miss McLeod's help, I dare to say that your first three years were spent in a healthy -- even if a little eccentric -- environment."

"Did I know what I was? What we were?" Cole asked. He knew perfectly well that he and his father were avoiding the subject that they both feared, and he had no problem with that, none at all.

"No, you didn't: your powers were bound when you were born. Although in my family it wasn't common practice to bind children's powers, your mother and I agreed that in your case it'd be wiser to wait until you were old enough to understand the peculiarities of your ancestry."

__

And very peculiar it was indeed. Benjamin smiled as the thought crossed his mind.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

Benjamin was intrigued when he saw that the lights on the first floor were off. It was almost dinner time: usually, when he arrived home from work his wife and his son came to welcome him back at the door. It had been raining cats and dogs for the entire afternoon; they couldn't have left for a walk. He frowned and walked warily towards the kitchen, the only visible source of light.

There, he found only Annabel McLeod, who turned away from the lamb chops she had been preparing for dinner and said, placing her hands on her hips:

"I tried to stop her, Mr. Turner. But did she listen to me? No! It's a shame to waste such a wonderful rain, she says. My kind doesn't get colds, she says. And yes, I admit that I have never seen the lady get sick, not even once in these three years but, frankly..." -- she waved her head and joined a very amazed Benjamin as he looked through the kitchen's window to see mother and son in the backyard, having the time of their lives, laughing and screaming and playing in the pouring rain.

As Benjamin glanced at the woman by his side, he saw that she was smiling, too, despite her reproachful words. His heart nearly stopped, though, as she said, still watching Erzsebet and Cole:

"You know she's not human, don't you?"

"Ah... hum?" was all he managed to utter.

Fortunately, she still had her eyes on the scene before them, unaware of the shocked look in his eyes as she proceeded:

"You married a sylph, Mr. Turner. Beautiful and wild, like a force of nature. The lady is lucky that she married you among all men: any other man would have tried to tame her, and that would have either pushed her away or crushed her spirit."

Benjamin had already managed to regain his wits when Miss McLeod turned to him again, with a smile on the round, freckled face framed by grizzled hair.

"But you let her be, and she's happy: anyone can see that. Mrs. Turner never talks about her past, but I don't think she had ever been happy before she met you."

Before Benjamin could answer to that surprisingly insightful remark, the door was opened, and Erzsebet burst in, with Cole in her arms. They were both soaking wet, but looked as happy as one could possibly be.

"Good evening, Counselor Turner," she said, walking towards him and going on tiptoes to kiss him. "How was your day?"

Miss McLeod eyed the trail of rainwater she was leaving behind her, and Erzsebet added, carelessly:

"Oh, that's just water, I'll dry it off later."

"Daddy, I saw the thunder and I heard the lightning," Cole broke in, proudly, while Erzsebet snuggled in Benjamin's arms, oblivious to the fact that she was soaking his brand new suit.

"You saw the thunder, huh? Well, then you're the first creature to have ever achieved such a deed," Benjamin said, chuckling. He kissed his son and his wife affectionately, and circled Erzsebet's waist with his arm, looking at Miss McLeod over her head and saying:

"I'll take these two savages upstairs and make sure they look presentable for dinner. And don't worry about the water, we'll take care of it later."

He took Cole from Erzsebet's arms and together they walked out of the kitchen, with the boy happily chattering about the differences between bath water and rainwater.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Benjamin unwillingly forced himself to come back to the present, wishing he had time to share some of those happy memories with his son, but knowing that it would have to wait.

"But eventually the Source got tired of waiting," he said. "He finally understood that your mother had indeed switched sides, and that she had every intention of staying good. Ironically enough," he remarked, with a humorless smile, "it took him less time to accept that than it did the Elders."

He paused, considering what to say next, and looking very tired and very sad.

"I was running for Congress then: your mother and I had been talking about leaving San Francisco, and I figured that would be the perfect opportunity to do that with no loss to my political career."

He looked down and his voice was hoarse as he proceeded:

"Not a day has passed during all these years that I haven't wished I had just took you and your mother and left without looking back."

"But I didn't," he sighed. "I was considered too young to be a congressman, but I managed to convince the party to nominate me. At least that's what I thought then," he added, bitterly. "Looking back now, I wonder if the Source didn't have more to do with my nomination than my eloquence did, as it turned out that it fit his interests perfectly."

He paused again, as if the memories were too painful to be remembered.

"I was spending long periods away from home; and when I was home, I'm afraid I was too tired and too immersed in my own musings to see what was happening. Sure, I noticed how your mother was often tense and irritable, but in my own tiredness I just blamed it on the fact that she spent most of her time at home, with no one to talk to but an old lady who had the best intentions but knew nothing about her pretty unusual background, and taking care of an extremely active three-year-old. Back then, a woman wouldn't go to the theater or to the opera all by herself, and making visits and doing small talk didn't thrill your mother. The things that interested other wives -- fashion, gossip, homemaking -- had little or no interest for her. And she..." -- he hesitated, apparently considering what to say next, then waved his head, as if dismissing an idea -- "She had bad memories of San Francisco, and couldn't wait to leave the city. So I just assumed that she was tired and frustrated, and that once the elections were over things would get back to normal."

Benjamin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees; he closed his eyes and ran his hand across his face.

"Your mother never lied to me," he said, giving Cole a pained look. "She always said she wouldn't be able to make it alone, and I promised her I'd be by her side on every step of the way."

He sustained Cole's look with obvious effort as he finished:

"But I failed her when she needed me most."

"What happened, dad?" Cole asked, in a tiny voice.

"The Source had one of his most powerful sorcerers working day and night to bring the evil inside her back to surface. Because, you see, she did have evil inside her, and she fought it every goddamned day. And she kept fighting it, even with the spell working on her, weakening her will and poisoning her soul. But it's like..." -- he searched for the right words to make them understand -- "like giving liquor to a recovering alcoholic: once there's alcohol in their system, it's..."

"Like the breaking of a dam," Paige said, quietly.

At first, Benjamin just gave her a surprised look. Then, as comprehension sank in, he blushed and said:

"I'm awfully sorry! I never meant to..."

"That's okay," she said, softly. "What I meant is, I know what it's like. You're right. Refusing the first doses is hard enough. Refusing the second one is almost impossible. After you've had a few ones... it's just unstoppable."

"Thank you," Benjamin uttered.

He stared at his feet for a while, as if gathering the strength to proceed.

"I don't know exactly how it happened," he said, sounding like every word hurt. "I got home and you weren't there. Then I went to the kitchen, and that's where I found Miss McLeod."

"Was she dead?" Cole asked, tensely, needing to know, yet dreading the answer.

"No, she was still alive when I found her," Benjamin said. "But she was lying on the kitchen's floor, drenched in blood. I couldn't stop the bleeding, so I did the only thing I could think of: I called Sam and, God bless him, he came, even though I wasn't one of his charges any more."

"So, he healed her? Mother didn't kill her?"

"Your mother never raised her hand against her, son," Benjamin explained. "Miss McLeod herself told me so, after Sam healed her. She was frightened and weakened, of course, and I didn't have time to wait for her to fully recover, but she told me that it had been a stranger who stabbed her, and of how he had pushed the knife into your mother's hand and urged her to finish the job. But she didn't; she just stood there, looking from Miss McLeod to her attacker, then dropped the knife and scooted out of the kitchen. And I know that it wasn't the rightest thing to do, to leave Miss McLeod there, bleeding to death, but I don't think that right then she trusted herself next to a knife and all that blood."

"N-no," Cole said, shivering. "Of course not. It's... She would've killed her, had she stayed there."

He remembered that night in the attic, with Jenna lying helpless at his feet, and Raynor by his side, inciting him, each word feeding the fire that burnt inside him. His human half had failed to suppress his demon half then, and his mother didn't even have a human half. He could just picture her, standing there, watching life be slowly drawn from the other woman's body, scenting the acrid smell of blood, while every fiber of her being screamed, _Kill her! Kill the human! Slash the bitch!_

Phoebe had her arms around him, and she could feel him shaking badly as he proceeded:

"She had blood on her hands, and this wild look in her eyes..."

Cole's expression was just as tortured as his father's as the memories started to surface in a horrible torrent.

"She said we had to leave. I couldn't walk as fast as she did, so she scooped me up, and... I don't know where we went through; it was getting dark, and there were trees..."

"The Golden Gate Park," Benjamin said. "I left Miss McLeod with Sam and went looking for you two. Sam begged me to wait, but I didn't listen to him. I couldn't... I had to find you. I don't know what make me go straight to the Park, but it was only a couple of blocks away, and I caught up with the two of you there. I managed to get your mother to stop and listen to me. I talked her into letting me take you from her arms, and for a moment I actually thought I'd manage to take you both back home... only when her eyes started to glow red did I realize that something was deadly wrong, much more than I had first figured out. But then... it was too late."

Cole just nodded, unable to speak, as the tears streamed down his face.

"But of course you know that," Benjamin said, wiping the tears from his own face. "I shouldn't be making you relive it."

Cole waved his head and took a deep breath, trying to control his voice:

"No, it's just... I, I never had the chance to mourn you. A-and..."

He choked and Benjamin took him in his arms again, holding him tight and feeling his heart break with every silent sob that shook his son's body. Phoebe looked at them, wishing there was something she could do, but she felt that that moment and that pain belonged to them only. Turning to Piper, she saw that her big sister had tears in her eyes, too, and Leo's brow was furrowed as he pressed his face to hers, to comfort her. Paige had her eyes down, seemingly very busy checking up on Ben, and Phoebe wiped away the tears from her own face as she turned to Benjamin and Cole again.

The minutes passed and Cole's sobs diminished until he was still in his father's arms. Benjamin pulled away slightly, and gently wiped the tears from his son's face. He looked straight into Cole's eyes and begged:

"Don't blame her, son. Please. She wasn't herself that night. Blame it on me if you will, for not having noticed it in time, for not having helped her."

"I bet he enjoyed it," Cole said, with a fierce look in his eyes. "I bet the sadistic son of a bitch enjoyed every moment of it."

He could feel the tears running down his face again, and hid his face in his hands, with his elbows resting on his knees. As Benjamin rested his hand on his shoulder, Cole said, without raising his head:

"He's gone."

"Who's gone?" Benjamin asked, confused.

"The Source. He was vanquished about one year and a half ago."

Benjamin stood silent for a while, then he asked:

"Was it painful?"

"You bet," Cole answered, grimacing.

"Good." -- Benjamin's voice held an unusually hard note and his eyes had a steely glint.

He stood like that for a while, his hand still resting on his son's shoulder. Finally, he turned to Leo and asked, in a very tired voice:

"How much time do we have left?"

"How much time do you need?" Leo asked in response. He had the nauseated look the others had gotten used to seeing on his face during the last seven months.

"I don't think you..." Benjamin started, but Leo held up his hand.

"Please," said the Whitelighter. "Take your time. I mean it: I could have orbed up there earlier, but I, too, wanted to hear your story."

"What do you mean?" Cole asked, looking from Leo to his father. "Are the Elders calling? Why would they be calling you, dad?"

"Well, I was gone for quite a long time," Benjamin reasoned. "They certainly want to talk to me."

"They're not going to do anything to you, are they?" Cole asked, apprehensively.

"Well, I'm sure there'll be a lot of lecturing -- probably some scolding, too -- considering the way I sneaked out and everything but, honestly, after spending more than a century locked in, I think even the Elders will agree that it was more than enough of a punishment for..." -- he noticed Cole's surprised look -- "Oh, you don't know how I got imprisoned, either, do you?"

"No."

Benjamin cast another hesitant look towards Leo, and this one said, firmly:

"Tell him." Seeing Benjamin's hesitation, he added: "If I just can't stand it any more, I'll orb up there and tell them that you need more time."

Leo grimaced and turned to Piper then, asking:

"Honey, we don't by any chance have ice cream here, do we?"

"I'm sorry, honey, no. Are you feeling sick?"

"A little. Fighting their summoning used to give me headaches, but lately it has started to make me sick -- like pretty much everything else."

Benjamin gave him a puzzled look and Leo added, dismissing it with a wave of his hand:

"Complicated story. You'd better finish yours first."

Benjamin hesitated briefly, then proceeded, after giving Leo one last curious look:

"I wasn't imprisoned by evil right away. After my death, my soul crossed to the other side, and although I desperately wanted to see your mother and you, I couldn't reach you in the Underworld. Time doesn't really count in the afterlife -- at least not in the way it counts here -- so I'm not sure of how long it took, but I believe it had been two years from the day I died to when your mother summoned me..."

"Whoa!" Cole said, interrupting him. The others looked just as surprised as he was when he said: "**_Summoned _**you? Mother could summon the dead??"

"Oh well, maybe _summon_ isn't the right word. Demons can't summon innocents' souls, thank God for that. But she had seen me do that a few times, and by repeating the words and the ritual she was able to reach me. Maybe because I wanted so badly to be reached, maybe because we were connected through you. Of course, she couldn't do it from the Underworld, but once she surfaced I could hear her."

Cole felt his heart sink as he asked:

"Did mother have anything to do with your imprisoning?"

"No," Benjamin said, firmly. "Only the fact that I was with her when it happened. But she didn't set me up: she only called me to ask for my help."

"Your help?"

Benjamin took a deep breath, wondering how to explain that. He knew that what he was about to say would be a shock to his son, and he didn't want him to take it the wrong way.


	9. Answers 4

Lots of notes this time:

Note #1: I'm so sorry for this awful delay! I know how frustrating it can be to be left hanging, but for some reason this chapter was very difficult to write. Anyway, here it is, and I'll try to upload chapter 10 faster.

Note #2: Due to a failure in my hard disk, I lost most of the messages in my inbox. So, to those of you who had written me and to whom I didn't answer, blame it on my computer. I may sometimes take a lot of time to answer my messages, but I always do.

Note #3: Yes, Falcon, I'm afraid this chapter is gonna be 'Answers 4' indeed. I never thought it would take me so long to explain everything, but now I'm finally done... for now.

Now, everyone, good reading! :-)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

__

Benjamin heard her chanting; she sounded unsure, pronouncing the words carefully and making long pauses between the verses, clearly unfamiliar with the craft, but her words went straight to his heart, her voice was like music to his sore soul.

When he materialized before her, Erzsebet stiffened and drew a sharp intake of breath.

"You called me," he said. Could a ghost feel his heart beating in his throat?

"I did. I... hum, I wasn't sure you'd come, though."

God, she looked so small and fragile!... Not the powerful demoness she was, just a petite woman fumbling nervously with the extra candle she had brought just in case.

"Of course I did," he said, softly.

She was so beautiful, just as beautiful as he remembered. But even in the dim light of the cabin they were in he could see the small things that only a lover would notice. Her skin lacked its usual bloom, there were subtle shadows under her eyes, and one of the hands toying with the black candle had a broken nail.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"I'm a single parent now," she said, flatly, "and a working mother to boot."

"You know that's not what I meant. What happened that night? What did they do to you?"

"Does it matter now?" she asked, with an impatient wave of her hand.

But he could see right through her, and pushed gently:

"It matters to me. I know that wasn't you."

"Yes, it was," she retorted, sharply. "That was the real me, the one I had been bottling up for five years then, until it finally surfaced again."

She paused, then snorted:

"That was just stupid of us to think that it wouldn't happen at some point."

"Who did that to you?" he pursued, ignoring her bitter remark.

The candle in her hands was in some serious trouble now, being rolled fast and angrily between her fingers.

"A sorcerer; one of the Source's personal servants. The best one, if you must know."

Benjamin winced; even though he had expected something like that, it still hurt to think that a dark sorcerer had reached out her filthy hands towards his wife's soul. He took a deep breath and forced himself to ask:

"For how long had it been going on?"

"Oh, two months, three months," she said, angrily throwing her hands up. "How should I know?"

"Months?!?" he repeated, shocked. "Good heavens, Erzsebet, why didn't you tell me?"

"Like you hadn't enough on your mind! You had a campaign to run, for you had to leave San Francisco. Because of me." -- she started pacing back and forth the room, her speed increasing as her anger rose -- "People you had known for years didn't talk to you anymore. Because of me. You fought evil and you helped innocents, but you didn't have a Whitelighter to heal you, were you to get hurt. Because of me!" -- she tossed aside the broken remains of the candle and stared at him with blazing eyes -- "You paid the bills, you dealt with the repairman, you even taught me how to prepare a goddamned grocery shopping list. One would think I'd be able to handle that one thing by myself, instead of running to you at the first signs of trouble."

She paused to breathe, then muttered, bitterly:

"Then again, I was wrong."

Before he could recover from the shock, she said, flatly:

"Never mind, though: this is not why I called you here tonight. I need your help, Benjamin."

"Sure," he said, surprised. "Anything."

"You know people. I mean, good people. Good witches," she added with obvious unwillingness. "And Cole is half witch. If they're as good as you claim they are..."

He just stared at her, puzzled, as she proceeded:

"There must be someone on the, hum, other side... I mean, I haven't unbound his powers yet; the Source thinks it's just taking them more time to develop because he's half human. But you know that he has inherited your powers, and he's the last of your lineage; the Elders will want to make sure he's raised by Good... won't they?"

"Sure," he said excitedly, as he understood what she was asking him. "Yes, of course they will! I'll talk to them: I'm sure they can see that the two of you..."

"Him."

"What?" -- he blinked, dumbfounded.

"Him," she repeated, curtly. "I'm not crossing over again."

"You, ah, you..." he stammered. "No, you can't be serious."

"You can damn well believe I'm serious, Benjamin," she said, with a steely glint in her eyes. "Unbind just his witch powers if you will. Let them raise him as a witch, let them tell him I'm dead. I don't care: I want my son out of the Underworld."

Benjamin felt his heart sink as he saw Erzsebet's face harden and become expressionless. That's how she had looked seven years ago, when she had arrived at his house, sent by the Source of All Evil as one of his best assassins. Her eyes were cold; her face, a mask of stone. He could almost hear the sound of doors being shut and locks being fastened as she retreated to some dark recess of her soul, where he couldn't follow her.

"You want to... Do you understand what you're saying? You'd never see him again, how..."

"Save it, Benjamin," she cut him, sharply. "Just give me an answer: will you do it or not?"

His mind worked frantically, but it was difficult to think straight when he was struggling with panic. He was losing her; she was closing herself off, slowly yet inexorably slipping away from him.

"Cole needs you. For God's sake, he's just a little boy, he needs his mother!" he pleaded.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? He doesn't have a mother down there! Demons don't have mothers, demons have breeders."

"Please don't ask me to do this," he begged. "Please don't ask me to leave you behind."

"You're not leaving anyone behind, Benjamin," she said, coldly. "I'm staying in the Underworld of my own free will."

"Why?"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" she finally snapped. "What difference does it make? I'm staying, that's all! Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"Because you're my wife, damn it!"

"I'm your WIDOW!"

She paused, breathing heavily, then said it again, in a tired voice:

"I'm your widow. You promised to love me and to cherish me until death did us part: well, in case you haven't noticed, this" -- she pointed at the candles arranged in a circle around him -- "is death doing us part."

Benjamin opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word the world swirled and revolved around him as he was pulled backwards, into what felt like a cold, dark nothing. Raynor's voice would be the last thing he would hear in a long, long time:

"Congratulations, my child. You did a great job luring the witch here. Good for you that I happened to be on the surroundings, and arrived just in time to capture him. 'Cause that was your plan all along..." -- Raynor's voice held an ominous edge as he tipped Erzsebet's chin, making her look right into his eyes as he gave her the softest of smiles -- "... wasn't it?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A deathly silence fell over the room as Benjamin finished his story. It was so heavy and so sorrowful that it actually woke Ben up; the toddler half opened his eyes and whimpered, calling out for Phoebe:

"Mama!"

"Shh, that's okay, sweetie," she whispered, promptly standing up and taking him from Paige's arms. "Mommy is here, everything's okay."

She sat by Cole's side again, torn between the urge to comfort him and the almost physically aching need to hold her baby tight in her arms, not daring to try and picture the tearing pain of giving him up to keep him safe.

Benjamin had his shoulders slumped, staring at his feet with a look of infinite sadness. When he finally spoke, his voice was little more than a whisper:

"If I had done what your mother was asking me, takenyou out of the Underworld then..."

"She'd be as good as dead," Cole said, somberly.

"Yes, she would," Benjamin admitted, with a sigh.

He knew it, and he was thankful that Cole understood, but it hurt to think that he had been so close to rescuing his son from the Underworld, and had failed.

"I don't know how she convinced the Source to accept you two back in the Underworld," Benjamin proceeded, "but I'm sure that you were a crucial part of the deal. Without you, she'd have been just another demon, and one who had already betrayed the Source once. He'd never have let her get away with that, no matter what story she told him to justify your disappearance."

"She knew that," Cole said. "I mean, she had to know. Mother was never one to delude herself." -- he gave his father a perplexed look -- "Then why wouldn't she...?"

"Cross over again?" -- Benjamin waved his head -- "That'd have meant hope. And forgiveness. Lots of things she wasn't ready to do, like giving up on her revenge."

"Revenge? You mean, against the Source?"

"Against herself. By providing that you were raised by Good and facing the subsequent wrath of the Source, your mother would be saving you, but also punishing the demoness that had killed her husband and taken her son to the Underworld."

"And when that failed, she embraced damnation," Cole said, shuddering. "You guessed right; it happened almost two years after your death."

"You said you mother had never told you," Benjamin said, confused.

"She didn't. But she changed; she changed overnight." -- Cole sighed and rubbed his temples -- "She became harsher, and colder. I still remember how she camehome one night with a haunted look in her eyes. She said that she didn't feel well, and that she'd go to bed earlier. The next day she unboundmy powers, and then she started to train me."

As he felt Phoebe snuggling with him, Cole put his arm around her shoulders, but his mind was somewhere else. Now that he thought about that, he wondered how he could have been so blind. He had witnessed his mother's downfall after she had given up all hope; yet, when he had gone down that same path, he hadn't recognized it. He had known the bitter despair, the cold feeling of emptiness that had made him feel dead inside, but he had failed to recognize in the mirror the forlorn look that haunted his mother's eyes even when she laughed.

Cole subconsciously held Phoebe tighter as the memories of that night in the attic flooded him once again. He had killed an innocent, while Phoebe pleaded with him through the ajar door, begging him to open the door and let her help him. That had hurt her as badly as if it had been her, instead of Jenna, who had been struck by the energy ball: she had put her faith in him, against everyone's best advice, and he hadn't lived up to her trust and her love. Inthe days that had followed his return to the Underworld, he had hated her for having given him hope, and Raynor for having taken it away from him, but most of all he had hated himself for having dared to believe. _You fool_, he had thought then. _Who did you think you were fooling? You don't belong with them, you never did. You don't belong anywhere but here. Forever._

"She never unboundmy witch powers, though," he said, almost to himself.

"If she had done that, you'd now be half demon, half warlock," Benjamin said. "Your mother made sure there would be a way out for you, would you ever want to cross over."

Cole nodded in silence.

"So, there was a time when she actually wanted me to be good," he muttered. He felt his head spin: that was a whole lot to learn in just one evening.

"Son," Benjamin said, placing his hand on Cole's shoulder and cutting off his musings, "I think you've had enough for today. You now know the main facts about your past, and you're in need for some rest. All of you are," he added, with a look that encompassed everyone in the room. "Even **_I_** feel spent, and I'm already dead."

"You didn't ask me how mother is," Cole said, out of the blue.

"No, I didn't," Benjamin said, quietly. "I don't... I don't know anything that happened from the day I was imprisoned until today, except for a few glimpses that I was able to catch from that dimension you sent me to. I guess I was hoping you'd say something, so that I wouldn't have to actually ask you this: is your mother...?" -- he left the question hanging, as if by saying it out loud he might jinx it.

"Alive? Yes. But she's, uh..."

"Still in the Underworld."

Cole nodded. He reached out and gently fondled Ben's hair, saying:

"She was at our house a couple of weeks ago, though."

Benjamin gave him an interrogative look and he explained:

"Ben was kidnapped by, uh, this demoness I knew. We were trying spells to bring him back, and one of them sort of summoned mother."

"Oh." -- Benjamin arched his eyebrows. -- "I see. And, did she already know that you had switched sides?"

"Yes. She didn't exactly look thrilled, but she helped us anyway: she brought Ben back from the Underworld... and then she left again."

"Just brought him back and left right away?"

"Well, no," Cole said, shrugging. "She yelled at me a little before she left."

"Now, that sounds more like your mother." -- Benjamin had a small smile on his lips, and Cole couldn't help but smile along with him.

"So, she's still in the Underworld..." Benjamin sighed.

"Yes," Cole said.

He watched his father hesitantly, and Benjamin answered the question he didn't dare to ask:

"Son, you come from a long line of stubborn men. Turners don't give up that easily."

"Gee, who would have thought..." Phoebe muttered with mock surprise, cracking a smile from Cole.

"I have a few things to sort out up there, but..." Benjamin started to say.

Just then, Leo stood up, grimacing. As the others looked at him, he said:

"That's okay, I'll just tell the Elders..."

"No, you're not telling them anything," Benjamin said, firmly, as he, too, stood up. "You've already done more than enough, Leo. I'm going with you, and I'll talk to the Elders myself while you come back here and go home with your family."

"You're leaving? Already?" Cole said, jumping to his feet.

"Well, yes," Benjamin said. "I'll have to talk to the Elders sooner or later, and I might as well do it while you and your family have a much needed night of sleep. You can summon me later, but for now I want you to eat something and go to bed."

"But the Elders... the rules... what if they don't let you..." -- Cole felt a hint of panic at the idea of losing his father again.

"Son," Benjamin said, giving him a reassuring smile, "I married a demoness. The rules didn't stop me then, and they won't stop me now." -- he pulled Cole to his arms again and held him tight -- "Just call me. I'll be there for you if you need me, I promise."

Cole clung to him, and Benjamin patiently waited until he felt his son relax, before pulling away and repeating, looking straight into his eyes:

"Just call me."

Cole managed to smile as he nodded, and watched in silence as his father shook hands with Piper and Paige. When Benjamin stood before Phoebe he hesitated, then leaned down and kissed her forehead, cupping her face in his hand and saying:

"I'll never be able to thank you enough."

He gently kissed the top of Ben's head, smiling as the boy mumbled in his sleep and curled in Phoebe's arms, then turned to Leo and said:

"Let's go."

"Honey," Leo said, turning to Piper, "will you wait for me here, or would you rather go to the hotel?"

"Well, we'll have to do something about Aunt Helen's notes," Piper reasoned. "Either take them with us or destroy them, so that no one else will fall for the same trap. I guess you'd better meet us here. I mean," she added, looking at the others, "unless you'd rather do it tomorrow before we leave Coleville. I for one would rather get it over with now and never enter this house again."

"Same here," said Cole.

"Amen," Phoebe and Paige said in one voice.

"Okay, then," Leo said, placing his hand on Benjamin's shoulder. "I'll be right back."

Both men disappeared in a swirl of blue lights, and for a moment the others just stood there, staring at each other in a tired silence. Finally, Piper broke the silence, saying:

"Paige, let's go to the library and see if there's something else there. Cole, Phoebe, you can start sorting out the contents of this drawer, see what we should keep and what is good for the fire."

As they started to work, at first they were moving a little clumsily, like people who had just woke up from a deep sleep; slowly, as they talked to each other and walked from the living room to the library, and back to the living room, watching as the notes were consumed by the fire or pilled up inside a cardboard box Cole found in the kitchen, they started to feel more like themselves again. When Leo orbed back, twenty minutes later, he found them gathered in the living room, discussing who was going straight to the hotel and who was going to stop by Sierra Retreat Pizza to buy dinner.

"So," Leo said, "are we ready?"

"Definitely," said Paige, promptly standing up.

When Cole gave him an inquisitive look, Leo said, with a smile:

"I wouldn't worry about your father if I were you: the Elders looked quite happy to see him. As long as he can survive some lecturing, he'll be just fine. And because of the rather specific quality of your powers, your father was granted permission to show up on a regular basis until you get a grip on them."

Leo was glad to see Cole's smile of relief, because he was pretty sure his next announcement would be considered rather unsettling, even though it wasn't a bad thing per se.

"The Elders brought up something else," he said, looking at Cole and Phoebe. "You see, since the Halliwell powers are passed only to their daughters, we never bothered to bind Ben's powers."

All eyes were immediately turned towards Ben, who was sound asleep in his mother's arms, peacefully sucking his thumb.

"Oh..." Phoebe uttered, after a few seconds. "So, Ben has inherited Cole's powers?"

"Yes. But there's more." -- Leo scratched his head -- "Since his powers weren't bound when he was born, you can't just bind them now. And before any of you ask, no, it has nothing to do with the rules, it's just..." -- he shrugged -- "the way these things work."

"And how exactly do these things work?" Cole asked, warily.

"Well, you'll have to wait until his powers start to develop before you can bind them."

"Leo, should I remind you that his powers include controlling fire?" Phoebe said, arching her eyebrows.

"I know, Phoebe, but Benjamin said that he wouldn'tstart with fire: he'll probably start with water or air, and you can bind his powers before he gets to fire."

Cole and Phoebe exchanged a worried look: even without magic, Ben was already becoming quite a handful as he took his first steps and started to show the first signs of the not so docile Halliwell-Turner temper.

"Well," Phoebe sighed, "I guess that settles the discussion on whether he should go to daycare or not."

Cole chuckled slightly, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. He helped her stand up with Ben, then put her purse on top of the cardboard box and picked up the box. Piper and Paige took their purses, too, and then everybody walked to the door. Only when Leo opened the door did they remember the snow: even though the storm had stopped a good two hours ago, the snow was still there, blocking the way.

"Ugh!" Piper said, grimacing. "Leo, Can we make it go away? I mean, since Anthony and Frederick created the snow with magic, it's okay for us to make it disappear with magic, too, isn't it?"

"Maybe Cole can melt it," Paige said, walking past Leo and Piper and giving the snow a critical look.

Cole was clearly not keen of the idea, but before he could answer, Leo broke in:

"Why don't you just cast a spell? I think Cole should give his powers a rest, and... What?" -- he gave Paige's amused smile an intrigued look.

"The guy has been a witch for less than three hours, and you already treat him like he's one of your... Oh, my God!" -- she opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with her hand -- "Cole **_is_** one of your charges, isn't he? That's what the Elders wanted to say to you up there!"

"What?!?" Cole said, as he and Phoebe joined the others outside the house. "I have a **_Whitelighter_**?" -- he gave Leo a shocked look -- "You're **_my _**Whitelighter now?"

"Oh well," Leo sighed, shrugging. "The Elders think there'd be no point inassigning two Whitelighters to the same house and... Paige, will you stop?"

"I'm no longer the newbie! I'm no longer the newbie!" Paige was lilting as she jumped up and down.

"Why do I need a Whitelighter?" Cole muttered, scowling. "I don't want a Whitelighter."

Leo rolled his eyes, but Piper and Phoebe could barely hold their laughter as Paige started to do her "happy dance". He sighed heavily and said to Piper:

"This is how the rest of my life is gonna be, isn't it?"

Piper finally went to her husband's help and took a few steps towards Paige, taking her by the ear and making her stop. Paige protested indignantly, even though Piper wasn't really twisting her ear. She tried to get free, but Piper waved a finger on her face and said, as sternly as possible, considering she was fighting laughter:

"Behave."

Cole opened his mouth to say something, but she added, pointing at him:

"And I mean both of you. Leo and I are about to be the parents of a newborn baby, not two teenagers."

"I wasn't..." Cole started to protest, but Phoebe elbowed him and he just gave Paige an annoyed look.

Then, as Piper let go of Paige's ear, Phoebe cast a spell that made the snow disappear, leaving the path clear.

"Honey," Leo said to Piper, "why don't you go to the hotel with Phoebe, Cole and Ben, while Paige and I go get us some food?"

Piper opened her mouth to object, but he said, with feign sternness:

"Listen, I may be the one feeling all the nasty symptoms, but you can't forget that you're almost eight months pregnant. You've had a full day, and so has Melinda. Go have some rest, will you?"

"Okay," she sighed. "But make sure you buy some ice cream for you," she added, pinching his cheek playfully.

"You bet," he said, smiling. "Tons of it."

With that, Piper followed Phoebe and Cole towards the Buick, while Leo opened the passenger door of their car and sat by Paige's side.


	10. Heading Home 1

Cole yawned and shifted position on the bed, but didn't care to open his eyes just yet: the moment he did, he'd be officially awake, and then the events of the night before would require his attention. And he just wasn't ready for that yet. His powers, Ben's powers, witches and demons, having a Whitelighter... Cole frowned, annoyed, as he realized that the memories of the previous night were already sneaking their way into his mind. He rubbed his sore neck, while stubbornly keeping his eyes shut.

After checking in the hotel the night before, he and Phoebe had left Piper at her room and headed towards theirs. Ben had been mercifully asleep during the whole process, and Phoebe had laid him on the middle of the king size bed with a sigh of relief. She and Cole had just changed into their pajamas when Paige knocked on the door with two pizza boxes in her hands. It wasn't 10 p.m. yet, and still they could barely keep their eyes open, so she had left them with one pizza and stumbled her way to her room carrying her own pizza box. Phoebe had slipped under the covers with Ben after a couple of slices of pizza, mumbling what sounded like "wake me up if the place is on fire", and fallen asleep right away. Cole was sitting on the other side of the bed then, and he intended to finish his own pizza and follow her example, but right now he didn't quite remember having fallen asleep. He didn't remember having finished his pizza, either. Or put the pizza box aside, for all that mattered.

Cole's eyes snapped open as it dawned on him that he had been smelling anchovies and tomato sauce for a while then. He gasped in horror when he saw Ben sitting on the bed between him and Phoebe, laboriously spreading pizza topping all over the sheets.

"OH, CRAP!"

Cole was completely awake now; he sat up and reached out for Ben, and both his cry and the abrupt movement woke up Phoebe. She raised herself on her elbow and frowned, rubbing her eyes as she tried to focus on the scene before her.

"Cole, what... OH MY GOD!"

Oblivious to his parent's horrified looks, Ben gave them a big smile and said joyfully:

"Hi!"

"What happened?!?" Phoebe asked, sitting up and grimacing as she removed an anchovy from her hair.

"I think," Cole said as he scooped up his tomato sauce covered son, "that he woke up before we did, and couldn't find anything interesting to play with but the pizza."

Phoebe glared at him and he added, defensively:

"I don't know how it happened, Phoebe. I must've fallen asleep while I ate, last night: you know how tired we were."

Ben reached out to touch his father's unshaved face, giggling as he felt the roughness of the incipient beard, and leaving five red fingerprints on Cole's face.

"Give him to me," Phoebe sighed, "we need a shower." She gave Cole a critical look and added: "Actually, so do you."

Cole handed the boy to her and followed his wife and son to the bathroom, waving his head. Looking at the little ragamuffin cheerfully lilting in Phoebe's arms, though, he couldn't help but smile. Unlike his parents, Ben was a morning bird. The toddler gave Phoebe a curious look as she entered the shower, put him on the floor and started to undress him. He watched, intrigued, as Cole threw the filthy clothes Phoebe handed him into a plastic bag, and when Phoebe turned the showerhead on he happily ran to stand under the water.

"Thanks God he isn't having one of his..." -- Phoebe gave him a warning look and Cole spelled the forbidden word -- "N-O B-A-T-H days."

"He wouldn't dare," Phoebe muttered as she reached out for the soap. But she was smiling, too, softened -- as usual -- by the joyful exuberance of their little sticky, smelly, dangerously creative morning bird.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Two hours later, they were crossing the lobby towards the restaurant to meet Piper, Leo and Paige for breakfast.

"After seeing the look on the maid's face," Phoebe sighed, "I don't think we'll be accepted in this hotel ever again."

"If they didn't close the restaurant at such a ridiculously early time, we'd have had dinner down here, and none of that would've happened," Cole reasoned. He spotted the others in the corner of the room and waved briefly at them.

"Yeah, right." Phoebe said, while Cole leaded her towards the table. "Tell it to the person who's gonna clean that bed."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Over breakfast, Leo told them that he couldn't travel back home with them. The Elders had granted him a good night of sleep, but they had also told him that they wanted him up there first thing in the morning, ready to make a full report. Since she had entered her seventh month, Piper had started to feel uncomfortable driving long distances, so Phoebe and Cole offered to take turns driving her car; that way, Paige wouldn't have to drive all the way home.

After breakfast, they checked out and, after Leo found a private place from which he could orb out, the others headed towards the cars. The moment Ben saw the Buick, though, his cheerful mood went out the window.

"No!", he protested, when Cole opened the door, intending to place him on the baby chair.

"Oh, sweetie, I know it was a long way to get here, but this time we're heading home," Phoebe said, reaching out to touch his cheek. "You wanna go home, don't you?"

"No!", Ben repeated, vehemently, throwing his arms around daddy's neck and avoiding eye contact with mommy. The last time they had put him in the car, it had been like forever sitting there, and he had no intention of going through that again.

"No no no no no no..."

Phoebe let out a heavy sigh as she saw Ben hide his face on Cole's shoulder. She knew from experience that the toddler could go on like that for quite a long time, chanting the word like a mantra, and she was so not in the mood for that!...

"Ben..." she started.

"NO!" -- even though his face was still pressed against Cole's shoulder, Ben was loud enough to make a couple coming out of their own car turn around to look at them.

"Benjamin..." Cole said in a warning tone.

"No..." Ben whined, clinging harder to his father, and Cole and Phoebe exchanged a helpless look.

"Would you like me to orb him home?" Paige offered.

"No," Phoebe sighed. "You would have to stay home with him, and between Cole, Piper and me, it would take us like forever to get home. Honey," she pleaded, going around Cole and standing behind him, trying to make eye contact with Ben, "mommy wants so badly to go home now, let's get in the car. Mr. Floppy and Bobo are already there, waiting for you," she added, hoping that the mention of Ben's two favorite stuffed animals would soften him.

"No no no," Ben said, without raising his head, and Phoebe rested her own head on Cole's back, sighing in frustration.

"Ben," Cole said, suddenly having an inspiration, "do you wanna take off your shoes?"

Ben didn't answer, and Cole tugged lightly on one of his feet.

"Come on, buddy," he pursued, "what do you say? No shoes..."

Ben slightly raised his head and gave daddy a shy look. He liked "no shoes". He was always trying to get rid of his shoes, but mommy and daddy always ended up putting them back on. He didn't like shoes, and he didn't like socks -- which were, in his opinion, just shoes in disguise --, and he didn't like gloves, and hats... well, he had his "no hat" days and his "yes hat" days, but as for shoes, every day was a "no shoes" day.

Seizing the opportunity, Cole insisted:

"No shoes. You want 'no shoes', don't you?"

Ben raised his right foot and reached out for the offending shoe. Cole then caught the toddler's hand in his and said:

"In the car. No shoes."

Ben frowned and Phoebe, Piper and Paige held their breaths. He looked at the car, then back at Cole.

"In the car, no shoes," Cole said again, smiling. "Okay?"

Ben reached out and tugged with the collar of Cole's jacket, and Phoebe couldn't help but smile: he always tugged on things when he was deciding what to do. Finally, the toddler grinned at Cole and said:

"'Kay."

"That's my boy!" Cole said, victoriously, walking quickly towards the car, with Phoebe on his heels. "Paige, Piper, get in the car! You know his attention span is short! Come on, people, move!"

One year of parenthood had done wonders for Cole and Phoebe's team working skills: while he put Ben on his chair, she opened the door of the other side and quickly slipped in, carrying the baby bag. Then, as she fastened the straps of the baby seat, Cole closed the door, opened the driver's door and entered the car. By the time Phoebe had fastened her own seat belt, he was already turning the engine on, and when Piper honked the horn twice, signalizing that she and Paige were ready to go, the Turners were right behind them.

"Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo..."

As Ben started to hum to himself, moving his toes and watching them with great pleasure, Cole and Phoebe exchanged a smile through the rear-view mirror. She stretched her limbs, sighing in contentment.

"Hey! You're not gonna sleep, are you?" Cole asked, with a smile.

"No," she said, smiling back at him, "don't worry. I'm willing to enjoy a nice trip home, along with my two witches."

"Right," he said, his smile faltering slightly. "Baby, can we, uh... not use that word just yet?"

"I was wondering how much time it'd take for the whole thing to dawn on you and you start freaking out," she said, giggling.

"I'm not freaking out..." Cole protested. Phoebe gave him a knowing smile and he sighed: "Oh well, maybe a little."

"Oh, baby, there's nothing wrong with that," she said, reaching out to fondle his hair. "You're not the first one to react this way, you know."

"Did you?"

"Well, no," she admitted. "But I'm the exception that confirms the rule," she quickly added. "Piper completely freaked out, and so did Prue and Paige."

She handed Mr. Floppy to Ben, smiling as he went from "doo doo doo" to "ta ta ta" without as much as a pause to breath.

"But they came around, and so will you," Phoebe said softly as she rubbed Cole's shoulders.

"I hope you're right," he sighed.

"I'm always right."

Cole laughed heartedly and she slapped his shoulder, letting out a shriek of indignation. That earned her a reprimand from Mr. Floppy:

"No no no," said the stuffed bunny, nuzzling her cheek.

"This isn't fair!" Phoebe said, giggling. "I'm outnumbered by the boys! Pull over, I wanna go to the girls' car."

"Sorry, baby, but you're stuck with us," Cole said, chuckling. "This is the Turners' car, and all the Turners travel here."

"Witch," she teased him.

"Hey!"

"Witch, witch, witch!" she lilted, and Ben gladly joined her.

"Swish, swish, swish!" sang the toddler, making Mr. Floppy dance along with the tune.

"You're supposed to be on my side, young man!" Cole protested.

"Swish!"

"Shush, you people of the back seat!" Cole said with feign sternness.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish..."

While Ben and Mr. Floppy were busy singing their new song, Phoebe leaned forward and wrapped her warms around Cole's neck.

"If you find this subject unsettling," she said softly, "why don't you focus on other things for a while?"

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that your parents were happily married," she said, caressing his face. "That you were a much desired son, conceived with love."

"Yeah," he said, a smile lingering on his lips. "I was, wasn't I?"

"Yes," she said, smiling as her eyes met his on the rear-view mirror, "your father seemed pretty serious about that."

Cole gently squeezed the hand that was resting on his shoulder, savouring the thought. He wished he could remember the happy life his father had talked about, but it felt good just to know that it was there, somewhere in his past, the love and the trust in which he had been conceived. Also, the fact that his father still loved his mother, and that he didn't hold the disaster that had struck their family against her, had lifted a huge weight from his shoulders: he wasn't torn between two loyalties any more, finally free to love both his parents.

"Mama!" -- Ben's voice cut off his musings.

"I think someone's up for a song," Phoebe said with a smile, unwrapping her arms from around Cole's neck and turning her attention to Ben again.

Ben clapped his hands enthusiastically, showing her which song he wanted, and Cole prepared to hear several rounds of "If You're Happy And You Know It". Ben couldn't sing along, but he loved the gestures, and Phoebe sang it three times before he wanted to move on to "Itsy-Bitsy Spider". Only after the poor spider had gone up the water spout and been washed out by the rain for the umpteenth time could the "Five Little Monkeys" start jumping on the bed, and then the monkeys were replaced by "Two Little Black Birds Sitting on A Hill", and after Jack and Jill were gone it was time for "The Wheels of The Bus", which of course daddy had to perform along with them, and when Piper pulled over Cole didn't have to be asked twice to move to her car while Paige came drive the Buick for a while.


	11. Heading Home 2

Note: Some of you have been asking me if I'll write a sequel to this story, and it finally dawned on me that my readers can't read my mind: so **_I_** know that there'll be a sequel, but **_they_** won't know unless I tell them! So, rest assured, you people who have been asking me if there'll be a sequel, or if this or that character will make another appearance in the story: as far as I'm concerned, this series can go on forever. Really. All I ask is that you leave a review every now and then so that I know that people are still reading it.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"I thought you'd rather take a break and let Phoebe drive for a while," Piper said, watching as Cole fastened his seat belt.

"I love my wife," Cole said, while he turned on the engine, "and I love my son. But if I had to sing another chorus along with Bobo the Red Elephant there'd be one less stuffed animal in the world before you could say _pop! goes the weasel_."

"Well, don't worry: Melinda and I are gonna be as quiet as two mice," Piper said, giggling.

"That will be greatly appreciated, ladies. Thank you very much."

They drove in silence for a while, until Piper cast a hesitant glance towards Cole and said:

"Actually, Cole, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"As long as it doesn't rhyme," Cole said, smiling, "I'm all ears."

Instead of speaking, though, Piper started fumbling with the strap of her purse, looking uneasy, and Cole gave her a worried look.

"Piper, is there something wrong?" he asked.

"No. Yes. Kinda." She fidgeted in her seat and finally blurted out: "I'm sorry that I yelled at you last night."

"What?" he uttered, giving her a confused look.

"I was so worried about Leo," Piper said, "and when he said that you should cast the spell to close the portal..." -- she gave Cole a pained look -- "As it turned out, it was for the best, but I didn't know that then: I just wanted Leo to be okay, and I didn't bother to think of the consequences. That was exactly how you ended up in the Source's clutches last time: saving our lives."

"Oh." -- Cole stared at the road ahead, unsure. After more than a year, he trusted Piper, Paige and Leo enough to know that they truly cared about him, but it still perplexed him when they did things like this. Having other people apologize to him was something he still hadn't quite gotten used to.

"Look, Piper," he said, reaching out and patting her hand somewhat awkwardly, "don't be so hard on yourself. Of course you were worried sick about Leo: we all were. And, yes, I was scared to hell about reading that spell, but I would've read it even if you hadn't pushed me to. I mean, you don't really think that I'd let Leo die without even trying to... Oh God, now you're crying!" -- Cole nervously looked at his own car through the rear-view mirror, wondering if he should pull over and let Phoebe and Paige handle this -- "Piper, please don't do that, you know you scare more when you cry than when you yell at me!" -- the frantic look on his face made Piper crack a smile through her tears -- "You Halliwell women, why do you have to cry so often?"

"God, Cole, stop it," Piper said, chuckling and wiping away the few tears that she had shed. "Gee, you've lived with us for almost two years now, yet you still panic at the first sign of tears."

He squinted his eyes and gave her a suspicious look, wondering if the danger was really over. With those Halliwells, you never knew. When he decided that it was safe to start conversation again, he said, cautiously:

"Anyway, you don't have to apologize to me for that." Piper's lips shivered dangerously and he quickly added: "But I forgive you. Okay? I'm not even sure what I'm forgiving you for, but I do, so please don't start crying again."

"I won't," she said, smiling. She reached out and gently squeezed the hand that was resting on the wheel. "See? I'm not crying: relax."

"Uh-hum..." he muttered, warily. "Let's change the subject, then, shall we?"

"No, Cole," she said, seriously. "I really want to apologize to you. I won't cry, I promise, but I want to apologize."

"Piper," he sighed. "You already have. And yes, I see your point, but I don't hold it against you. Really. Okay, so something bad could have happened to me then, but something **_really_** bad was already happening to Leo. What should I do, step aside and watch from a safe distant?"

"No," Piper admitted. "No, you'd never do that: you're not the 'step aside and watch' kind."

She watched him with a pensive smile and added:

"You're gonna make one hell of a witch."

"Yeah, yeah..." -- he shifted on his seat, uneasy -- "I wish people would stop reminding me of that."

"Just give it some time," she said, understandingly. "It'll grow on you."

That reminded him of his previous conversation with Phoebe, and he asked:

"How long did it take for you to make your peace with the fact that you're a witch?"

"To be completely honest," Piper said, lying back on her seat and staring at the road ahead, "I'm not very sure I have."

"What!" Cole said, grimacing.

"Oh, don't worry," Piper said, turning her head to look at him. "I doubt it's gonna be like that with you: you're very different from me. You're more like Prue or Paige."

"I am **_so_** not like them!" he exclaimed, indignant.

"Oh, you **_so _**are like them," she said, amused by his reaction. "Why do you think you and Paige are always picking on each other?"

"Because she's stubborn and willful," he said. "And she has that temper, just like Prue, and..."

"Exactly. That temper. **_Your _**temper."

"I'm not..." he started.

"Yeah, right, you're such an easygoing guy!" Piper teased, and the offended look Cole gave her made her burst into laughter.

"Do you know why I rejected magic from day one?" she asked, and Cole raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Because it scared the hell out of me. To be the protector, not the protected one. To be one of a kind, when all my life I had tried so hard to just fit in. To have a destiny, that I might fail to fulfill. But, you see, that was me. Not Prue. Or Paige. Or you."

She smiled and proceeded:

"Right now, you hate the fact that you can't master your powers.Once you do, half of the problem will be over. You just don't like things that you can't control. And," she added with a mischievous smile, "you hate the fact that you're gonna have to learn things that I, Phoebe and Paige already know. You're not used to being the newbie anymore, and it's killing you."

Instead of answering, Cole chewed his lower lip, keeping his eyes on the road, and Piper's heart wrenched at the memory of her headstrong big sister, who hated to concede defeat, too.

"You're gonna be a major headache to Leo," she sighed. "Just like Prue and Paige."

"You and Phoebe break the rules big time, too," he said, stubbornly.

"When we don't agree with them, yes, we do. But you disagree with any rule that you didn't create yourself." -- Cole opened his mouth to retort, but she held up her hand -- "Cole, you do that when we play Monopoly, for crying out loud!"

"If you don't put a limit on how much money one can borrow from the bank..." Piper threw her hands up in the air, in mock despair, and he sighed: "Fine, point taken."

Cole tapped his fingers on the wheel, pondering his thoughts for a while.

"**_Suppose _**you're right," he finally said. "Do you, uh, actually think I'm gonna make a good witch?"

"I'm sure that you will," she said, smiling. "Specially if you're wise enough to learn from the mistakes that I, Prue, Phoebe and Paige have already made."

"I don't think I can memorize that much information," he said, smirking, "it's quite a long list."

"Another smart remark," she said, smacking his arm playfully, "and I won't tell you about the day Prue cast a truth spell on us."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Snooping, Walfrid?!?"

The Elder turned around from the window with a start and faced his peer, who was standing before him with her hands on her hips and a mischievous glint in her dark eyes.

"Valérie, you startled me!" he said. Regaining his wits, the chubby, bald man added: "And I wasn't snooping; I was just checking up on them."

"I see," Valérie said, smiling as she walked past him and watched as Piper told Cole how she had finally stood up to her abusive boss while under the truth spell.

She lowered her hood, whose softly glowing white color contrasted strongly with her black skin, and added, calmly:

"So, it seems that the decision was taken off our hands."

"In a way, I'm glad it was," Walfrid sighed, standing by her side and watching as Cole laughed heartedly. "Between Julius and Azhar, I'm afraid pigs would fly before we reached an agreement."

"Probably," Valérie said, chuckling slightly. "Now, if you're done checking up on Piper and Cole, can we take a look at the other car? I'd like to see the baby."

Walfrid waved his hand towards the window and the image immediately changed, showing Ben chewing one of Mr. Floppy's ears and watching the road through the window, while Phoebe and Paige chatted.

"A Halliwell and a Turner..." Walfrid said. "We should've seen it coming."

"Yes, definitely," Valérie said with a smile. "I guess falling for people they weren't supposed to be with is in their blood. Where's Leo, by the way?"

"I think one of his other charges called right after we dismissed him."

They watched the scene before their eyes in silence for a few minutes, until Valérie brought up the question that was on the mind of every Elder that morning:

"Do you think he can handle Cole?"

"If he doesn't, I'm afraid no one can," Walfrid sighed. He turned to Valérie with a smile and added: "But I trust he can. I know that some of our peers disapprove the unorthodoxy of his methods, but I for one wish we had more Whitelighters like Leo."

They turned towards the window again as they heard Ben squeal, and smiled at the sight of him waving cheerfully at a cow that stood beside the road.

"He respects Cole, and truly cares about him," Walfrid proceeded, "and it seems to me that it goes both ways. Yes, I think he can control Cole... as much as a anyone can control a Turner, anyway."

"What about her?"

"You mean, Phoebe?" Walfrid asked innocently, causing Valérie to raise an impatient eyebrow.

"Oh... her," he sighed. "Oh well, I don't know."

He waved his hand towards the window again and the image faded out.

"Benjamin didn't mention her last night," he said.

"Do you honestly think he won't?"

Walfrid shrugged and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"Oh, Walfrid!..." Valérie sighed. "He will, eventually. You know he will; we all know. And then, what are we going to do? What's more, what are we going to say to Cole? That he's supposed to save strangers, but not his own mother?"

"Valérie, she's a demoness!" Walfrid exclaimed, shocked. "She's been hunting us down and slaying our kind for almost one thousand years now, how can you..."

"I'm not standing up for her," Valérie said, holding up her hands. "But Benjamin and Cole will be soon enough, trust me."

"I don't wanna lose another witch because of our ineptness in dealing with her," she said, bitterly. "Last time, we were taken by surprise; let's not make the same mistakes this time."

"Maybe," Walfrid said, hopefully, "we won't have to do anything, after all. She's a demoness; demons are always getting killed, you know."

"She's been around for more than nine hundred years for a reason," Valérie said, waving her head. "She's powerful, and she's clever. I'm afraid the only witches that would have the power to vanquish her are the very ones we're trying to spare from a confrontation with her."

"What about other demons?" Walfrid offered. "They have been fighting against each other a whole lot more since the Source was vanquished. One of them might kill her; actually, she may be dead as we speak."

"We should be so lucky," Valérie said, without much enthusiasm. "No, Walfrid, we can't count on others to do our job. Because looking after our witches **_is _**our job and, if we can't do that, what good are we?"

"No good," Walfrid sighed. He gave her a helpless look and asked: "So, where does that leave us?"

"I wish I knew, Walfrid," Valérie sighed. "I wish I knew."


	12. The End, and a New Beginning

"So," Paige said as they were leaving the restaurant, "who's gonna drive which car now?"

They had stopped at Sacramento for lunch, and were now crossing the parking lot of Carrows Restaurant towards the cars.

"I for one could use a break," Cole said in a low voice, careful not to wake up Ben. He shivered slightly as the chilly breeze hit him, and carefully pulled the hood of Ben's jacket to better cover the chubby face that rested on his shoulder.

"Well, I haven't driven yet," Phoebe said in the same tone. "I can take it from here."

"I'm not tired, either," Paige said as they stopped by the two cars. "I'll drive Piper's car."

As Phoebe opened the door so that Cole could place Ben on the baby seat, Piper broke in:

"How about Phoebe drives my car and Paige travels with Cole?"

"Fine by me," Phoebe said. "What?" she said, noticing the far from thrilled look on Cole's face.

"Paige will be on my back for almost two hours," he complained.

"No, she won't," Phoebe said, giving Paige a stern look. "She'll behave."

Piper elbowed Paige and she said, mindfully:

"I'll behave."

"Right..." Cole muttered, not looking convinced. "Well, you drive," he said, throwing the keys to Paige.

While Paige caught the Buick's keys in midair, Piper and Phoebe walked towards the other car.

"She **_will _**be on his back all the way to San Francisco, won't she?" Phoebe asked after she and Piper were in the car.

"Totally."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Erzsebet watched as her interlocutor paced back and forth in the room, wondering how she could get rid of him without being blatantly obvious. Dasim might be a bloody chatterbox, but he was also a powerful ally, the kind you wouldn't want to upset. But the truth was, she was afraid she'd fall asleep right then and there, regardless of his endless ranting. She usually had no trouble listening to men's rambling, keeping that "oh-this-is-all-so-fascinating" look in her eyes while they babbled about their heroic deeds, but today the effort to just sit straight and keep her eyes open seemed to be taking all her strength.

"Just out of curiosity, how long have I been talking to the walls?"

The obvious annoyance in Dasim's voice told Erzsebet that she must've dozed off, and she straightened up with a start.

"I'm not..." -- she sighed and rubbed her eyes -- "Look, Dasim, I'm dead sleepy: I didn't sleep a wink last night. I think some witch was trying to summon me."

She yawned, unable to refrain herself, and Dasim asked with unconcealed impatience:

"So, I suppose I should leave and let you have your beauty sleep now?"

__

Yes! Just do that! Go to hell and leave me alone!

Gathering all her willpower, Erzsebet gave him the smile that had been the ruin of countless demons and humans.

"It's not that I'm not willing to hear about your plan, Dasim," she said, "but as you can see, right now I can barely keep my eyes open." -- she moved closer to him and batted her eyelashes -- "Besides, you know that you already have my vote, don't you? If anyone knows how to deal with those Furies, this one is you."

"Well," he conceded, distracted by her flattery, "you really do look tired today. You'd better get some rest before the voting: wouldn't want you to vote on the wrong plan by mistake, would we?" he asked, winking.

"Of course not."

"See you tonight, then," Dasim said, as she walked him to the door.

"See you."

Erzsebet closed the door behind him and rested her head on it with a sigh of utter relief. She really hadn't slept all night, even though no one had tried to summon her. Few witches dared to summon her, and none had since the year 1750, when she had slaughtered an entire town in retaliation.

As she slowly walked away from the door towards her bed, Erzsebet wondered what the hell had happened the night before. She had stayed awake all night, lying on her bed and staring at the ceiling, feeling like she had all the caffeine in the world in her system. She slipped under the covers, wondering for the umpteenth time if the burst of adrenaline that had surged through her and kept her awake the night before had anything to do with Cole or Ben. Several times through the night she had been tempted to shimmer in the manor to check up on them, and each time she had mentally scowled herself for being so stupid and weak. She moaned and pulled the covers over her head. She **_had_** to sleep. She couldn't afford looking like a living dead when she showed up at Lilith's for the meeting that night. No one would buy the summoning story twice, and then what would she tell them? That she couldn't sleep because she was worried about her witch of a son? Sure, that would grant her the "Demon Mother of the Year" award.

"Argh!"

Erzsebet tossed the covers aside with a grunt of frustration. She needed to sleep, and she needed it real soon, otherwise she was afraid she'd go insane. She ran her fingers along the delicate gold chain she wore around her neck, and fumbled with the locket that hung from it. It had been a long time, and she had sworn not to resort to that again, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Still, she closed her hand tightly over the jewelry, unsure: she stood like that for a good five minutes, with one arm folded under her head and the other lying across her chest, the hand holding the locket resting upon her pounding heart.

Slowly, very slowly, she opened her hand and carefully opened the locket, showing the two identical locks of hair inside it. One of them had been put in there 117 years ago, but it was still as black as it had been back then. She wondered if it would go gray now that his owner had lost the demonic gift of eternal youth. Erzsebet gently fingered it, as well as the second hair lock, that had joined the first one a few weeks ago, when she had its owner in her arms and an athame at hand. Finally, she took the third and last item from inside the locket and weighed it in her hand, wondering if she'd dare to use it after all those years. There had been a time when it worked like a safety blanket, helping her through those cold, lonely nights. The first time she had managed to sleep through the whole night without it, it had been a victory. The bitterest of victories, but still... Would she now be risking the forgetfulness so painfully achieved?

"Just this time," she muttered to herself as she gingerly closed the locket again, with the two locks of hair inside. "Just in order to have some rest."

With that, Erzsebet slipped her wedding ring on her finger, rolled onto her side with a sigh and drifted into a mercifully dreamless sleep almost right away.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Phoebe's eyes flipped open as she woke up, feeling cold without the warmth of Cole's body next to hers. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand: 1 a.m. Oddly enough, she didn't feel sleepy, so she crossed her arms under her head, intending to wait for his return. Looking to her left she could see Ben sleeping in his crib, with one arm around Mr. Floppy. She smiled as she remembered how excited he had been as Paige was pulling the car into the driveway. As Phoebe was getting out of Piper's car, she had seen Cole struggling to unfasten the straps of the baby seat with Ben impatiently tugging on them and saying "hi! hi!" to the manor.

She ran her hand over the sheets on Cole's side of the bed and frowned slightly as she realized that they were cold, showing that he had left the bed more than just a few minutes ago. Phoebe sat up on the bed and looked from the bed to the door with a feeling of uneasiness. In moments like this, when something as trivial as her husband being out of bed in the middle of the night unsettled her, she was painfully reminded that they were not a regular couple, with just regular worries.

Phoebe reached out for her robe, put it on and slipped her feet into her pantofles. She silently left the bedroom and walked towards the stairs, after checking the bathroom and finding it empty. She felt a little silly, yet she couldn't help herself: she just wanted to find Cole, tell him how silly she was and let him take her back to their bed, smiling and waving his head.

On the first floor, an umpleasant chill went up her spine as she saw that all the lights were off.

"Cole? Baby?" she called, hesitantly.

Getting no answer, Phoebe turned on the lights and did a quick and fruitless search around the first floor: she even opened the door to the basement and peered inside. Fifteen minutes later, she was standing in the middle of the kitchen, nervously tapping her fingers on the back of a chair while glancing an indecisive look towards the back door. Finally, she waved her head and turned around from the door with a heavy sigh: it was probably under 60 F outside, the idea of Cole wandering in the backyard in that weather was just ridiculous. Phoebe pulled her robe tighter around herself as she walked back upstairs, her malaise getting stronger. She looked inside the bathroom again, and also in their bedroom, even though she didn't see how Cole could have come back without her noticing.

She looked from the door of Paige's bedroom to the door of Piper and Leo's, wondering if she should wake them up. She had already raised her hand to knock on Piper and Leo's door when she remembered that there was one last room where she hadn't looked for Cole, one where he rarely -- if ever -- went by himself.

Phoebe tiptoed her way upstairs and opened the attic's door to find Cole standing before the Book of Shadows, leaning over the ancient book and so absorbed browsing through it that he didn't notice her until she took a step in and a floorboard creaked under her foot.

"What...?" -- Cole raised his head with a start, but relaxed as soon as he saw her -- "Hey, baby. I hadn't noticed you there."

"Sorry," she said, smiling as she crossed the room towards him. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't," Cole said, putting his arms around her. Phoebe raised a mocking eyebrow and he admitted, with a smile: "Okay, so you did, but don't tell Paige I can be startled that easily."

He kissed the tip of her nose and asked:

"Now, what are you doing up this late?"

"Actually, I was looking for you," she said. "I felt lonely on that big, cold bed..." she added in her baby voice.

"So," Cole said, giving her a little smile as he held her closer, "you missed me, huh? I'm glad to hear that."

"I always miss you, baby," she purred.

Cole leaned down to kiss her and Phoebe gladly returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, but after some time she pulled away from him just enough to look around him and peer at the Book of Shadows.

"So, what are **_you _**doing up this late?" she asked.

"I, uh..." -- Cole blushed slightly as he cast a shy look towards the Book of Shadows -- "Oh well, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well..."

"... study?" she finished the sentence for him with a somewhat amused smile.

"Sort of. I just thought I might find something here that would help me understand..." -- he shrugged -- "...you know."

"Did you?"

"Not really," he sighed, giving the Book of Shadows an annoyed look. "Most of the stuff here is about the Halliwells and the demons they've fought."

"Makes sense," Phoebe said, smiling, "considering it's the Halliwells' Book of Shadows." Then she added, more seriously: "Baby, if you wanna learn about your family and about the witchcraft, you'd better talk to your father. And to Leo: I'm sure he'll want to have a talk with you."

"He already has," Cole sighed.

Phoebe raised an inquisitive eyebrow and he added:

"About the rules, and personal gain, and the rules, and free will, and the rules..." -- he grimaced -- "Lots of rules."

"Baby, if you think Leo was bad, wait until Piper starts tutoring you," she said, giggling.

"What?" -- Cole's eyes opened wide in shock when he understood what she meant -- "Oh, no! No, no, no! There's absolutely no way I'm gonna take potion classes from Piper!"

"Oh, yes, you will! Every witch in this house does!"

"Well, not this w..." -- he stopped short as the word got stuck in his throat.

"What?" Phoebe asked, smiling.

"You know."

"Say it."

"Phoebe..."

Cole started to unwrap his arms from around her, but she kept her arms around him so that he couldn't pull away.

"Come on, baby," she said, softly. "Once you put it into words, it'll be easier, you'll see."

Cole sighed and pulled her closer, resting his chin on her head.

"This is weird," he sighed.

"I know," she whispered, nuzzling his chest. "And that's exactly why you should say it out loud: the sooner you do, the sooner it will start not to sound so weird."

Phoebe patiently waited while Cole just stood there, holding her silently.

"Witch," he finally said, in a voice so low that she would probably have missed it if the attic wasn't completely silent.

Phoebe raised her head to face him, smiling, and he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I'm a witch," he repeated, as his lips grazed her skin, traveling down to her left cheek.

"Like your father before you, and his father before him," she whispered, and offered him her parted lips.

"And that little imp we have downstairs," he said, and then his mouth found hers and no words were said for a while.

"Yes," she said, smiling against his lips as they pulled away just enough to breath, "our baby boy is a witch, help us God."

Cole sighed, an image of Ben freezing the bath water on one of his infamous "no bath" days flashing in his mind, but he pushed it away and captured Phoebe's lips again, deciding that right then and there they had much more interesting things to think about. They forgot all about witches, powers and rules as their bodies responded to each other's closeness and their passion grew.

"Can this door be locked?" Cole uttered in between kisses.

"Cole! Here?!?" Phoebe asked, giggling.

"Do you have a better idea," he said, giving her a sly grin, "considering Ben is in our bedroom?"

"Actually, yes," she said, smiling back at him. "I do have an idea. I was planning on saving it for tomorrow, but..."

Cole tried to protest as she pulled away from him, but she took him by his hand and started pulling him towards the door.

"Come on, come on!" she urged him as they quickly made their way downstairs, ignoring his whispered protests.

On the first floor, Phoebe led him to the kitchen, turned on the lights and stood before the window, looking at the house next door.

"What?" he said, giving her a puzzled look. As he followed her stare, he sighed: "Piper told you, didn't she?"

"On the way back from Sacramento, yes, she did," she said, still looking at the house.

Cole hugged her from behind and leaned down to press his face against hers, giving the house a longing look.

"Well, it would've been a good arrangement," he said, quietly. "Wouldn't it?"

"Sure," Phoebe said, caressing the hand that rested on her belly. "It will."

"If only... uh, excuse me, what did you just say?" -- Cole straightened up and gave her a bewildered look.

"I said," Phoebe calmly said, turning around to face him, "that the house next door will be the perfect arrangement. Quoting you, close enough to be safe yet distant enough to be comfortable."

"Baby, we can't afford..." -- Cole looked at the house again then turned back to Phoebe, giving her a hesitant look -- "Can we?"

"That's what Piper wanted to talk to me about in her car," she said, smiling. "I'm gonna trade my half of the manor for her half of the house in Coleville. As soon as we sell that house, we shall have enough money to buy this one." -- she motioned towards the house through the window.

Cole just stared at her, dumbstruck, and Phoebe teased him:

"Cat got your tongue, husband?"

"No, it's just... Phoebe, are you sure you wanna do that? I mean, the manor has been in your family for generations, and..."

"It'll still be in the family," she said, cutting him off as she gently placed her fingers on his mouth. "Cole, I don't need a piece of paper telling me that this house belongs to me; as long as Piper's family lives here, it'll always be home for me. Just as our house will always be home for her family, and Paige's as well. Won't it?" she asked, cocking her head aside and looking at him in mock suspicion.

"Uh, yes," he said, still stunned. "Sure. You know that I couldn't care more for them even if they were of my own blood."

"And what you said about tearing down the wall and everything," she continued, "did you really mean it?"

"Every word," Cole said. He looked through the window again, seeing the house in a whole new light then. Their house. A place of their own. When he turned his eyes back to Phoebe, he had a bright smile spread all over his face. "So... you're serious? We can buy it?"

"Yes, we can," Phoebe said, smiling back at him. She turned towards the window again, putting one arm around his waist.

"I've always loved that tree," she said, pointing at a golden rain tree that could be seen over the wall. "It's so beautiful on spring, covered with yellow flowers..."

"Can we hang a tire swing from it?" Cole asked.

"Uh-hum. Let's just make sure it's not too close to the sand box."

"There'll be a sand box too?"

"Sure. Every kid should have a sand box to play in, and get all filthy and sand covered."

"Not that our kid needs any help getting filthy," Cole remarked, and they both chuckled slightly before turning their attention back to the house.

"You can't see it from here," Phoebe said, "but one of the bedrooms has a balcony, and there's a gorgeous scarlet bougainvillea climbing up the wall towards it."

"Will it be our bedroom?"

"Yes." She let out a sigh of contentment and leaned closer to him as she repeated the words, savoring them. "Our bedroom."

"If there's an extra bedroom," Cole said, "we can turn it into an office."

"Why? What's wrong with keeping your file folders in the diaper drawer?" Phoebe asked, raising her eyebrows in mock surprise.

Cole's chuckle was cut off by a yawn, and Phoebe turned around from the window to face him.

"Baby," she said, "it's probably 2 a.m. by now. We should go back to bed; there'll be plenty of time to make plans for the house tomorrow."

"Promise I won't wake up to find out it was all just a dream?"

"Cross my heart," she said, softly. She went on tiptoes to kiss him and added: "Now, let's go back to bed."

Cole gave the house one last look and let her take him by his hand and lead him upstairs. As they quietly slid underneath the covers, he snuggled her in his arms, feeling her petite body mold perfectly to his.

"Good night, love," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"'Night, Cole," she mumbled, cuddling up with him. "Love you," she added, with her eyes already closed.

It didn't take long before they were both sound asleep. When Ben woke up, later that night, his parents didn't even stir. They didn't see him give the mobile that hung from the ceiling right above his crib a pensive look, then purse his lips and blow. A soft breeze started blowing inside the bedroom, making the mobile waver, much to his amusement. Ben watched the mobile for a while, then waved bye-bye at it, contented by their little interplay. He yawned, cuddled with Mr. Floppy again and went back to sleep, while the mobile gradually returned to its previous still state.

**The End  
(Next installment: Season of Hope)**


End file.
